Liberal Democrat candidate Peter Taylor has been re-elected as the mayor of Watford after winning the town's 2022 mayoral election.

Mr Taylor secured 12,895 votes from residents in Watford, winning over 50 per cent of the vote.

The result means Mr Taylor will serve as the town's mayor for another four years, having also been elected in 2018.

Labour's Asif Khan came second with 6,234 votes while Binita Mehta-Parmar came third for the Conservatives with 4,404 votes.

Turnout was around 33 per cent. 

Reacting to his victory, Mr Taylor tweeted: "Thank you Watford! It is such an honour to serve as the town’s Mayor and I am so grateful to everyone who put their trust in me.

"I love this town and will do everything I can to make it an even better place for everyone."

Speaking to the Observer afterwards, Mr Taylor said: "I'm delighted to get over 50 per cent of the vote - it is testament to the hard work of the whole team and it is a privilege to get that level of support."

He said his three main priorities will be getting Watford General Hospital rebuilt, campaigning for a more "sensible" planning system in a bid to reduce the level of development in Watford, and tackling congestion in the town.

On development, the mayor said: "The big change this year is we will have a new local plan coming into force in the next few months that will give us more power to turn down developments that are out of keeping. We will say in our policy that we don't think buildings should be over ten storeys."

On the turnout being around 33 per cent, Mr Taylor said: "We did pick up on doorstep that people were upset with politics in general."

Council ward seats are still to be announced. Mr Taylor says he is hoping his party will be able to retain all of the seats they hold. 

More reaction and details to follow.