A new group of councillors in Hertsmere are hoping to “take the politics out of politics” at the borough council.
At this week’s council meeting, Marc Amron, Graeme Alexander and Alpha Collins will sit for the first time as members of the Hertsmere First group.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service sat down with Cllr Amron, the group’s leader, to hear more about what he hopes the group will bring to Hertsmere Borough Council.
Cllr Amron says they have been brought together by their “genuine empathy, a willingness to help other people and put other people before us”.
“In terms of some of our beliefs, we’re pretty poles apart – but there is so much that ties us together,” he says.
The administration’s majority has been eroded further by the resignations of Cllrs Graeme Alexander (Borehamwood Brookmeadow) and Alpha Collins (Borehamwood Hillside) from the Labour group – Cllr Alexander left shortly before joining the calls for Cllr Newmark to quit, while Cllr Collins left only last week.
It means there are now only 20 Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors, with 16 in the Conservative group and three in Hertsmere First.
Hertsmere First have some agreed upon “priorities”, including protecting the green belt, supporting another GP surgery in Borehamwood, and calling for regular inspections of housing association properties.
But their new group won’t be whipped, and Cllr Amron says: “There could be situations where we end up voting three different ways, but that’s the whole point.
“We respect each other’s differences, and we’re going to put those to good use.
“We’re bound together by our honesty, our integrity, and our willingness to listen to other people’s point of view even if we don’t necessarily agree with them.”
Their aim of “taking the politics out of politics” may be admirable, but how feasible does Cllr Amron think that is given that adding just one more councillor to their group would mean they held the balance of power on the council?
“It’s a bold thing to say. It sounds really easy – but it is a challenge.
“We’re never going to completely take the politics out of politics, but we are going to try to change the atmosphere in Hertsmere’s council chamber.
“There are definitely shared interests between the groups, we must focus on the common goals and shared values to build unity across the chamber.
“We need to foster open and respectful dialogue and identify common ground, but do it in a way for each party to make a decision without harming the other with a bit of give and take and putting aside the them and us mentality.”
One other recent development in Hertsmere politics has been the election of Cllr Lynette Sullivan as Conservative group leader, replacing the long-serving Cllr Morris Bright, who has been in charge for 18 years.
Cllr Amron says he thinks Cllr Sullivan’s election will “bring a completely different change to that chamber”.
“I’m expecting a much calmer chamber.
“Morris is a great guy, I’ve got a lot of respect for Morris, a lot of time for him personally.
“But Morris is a sort of not-quite-as-tough version of Jeremy Newmark.
“He’ll think a little more about what he says before he says it – but there’s been some real ding-dongs going on in that chamber.
“The people of Hertsmere don’t want to see their elected representatives arguing with each other about snide remarks and petty stuff.
“I will work very closely with Lynette, as I will with Paul Richards [Liberal Democrat group leader] and Jeremy Newmark.
For Cllr Amron, who had been considering leaving the Liberal Democrat group since “before Christmas”, the “final straw” came at February’s council meeting when Cllr Newmark – who he describes as a “nice guy” and “committed politician” – angered councillors by accusing Cllr Abhishek Sachdev of using an “anti-Semitic trope” in a speech on the budget.
Cllr Newmark later said: “I deeply regret any harm or impact it might have had on Cllr Sachdev, but I believe I chose my words very carefully. I believe I did not accuse him individually of being an anti-Semite; I believe I focused entirely on the impact of his words. So I do offer my sincere and heartfelt apology if he feels in any way that is the message people took away.”
But, in Cllr Amron’s view, it was “a disingenuous apology”.
“I was already pretty fed up anyway with my group. But when that happened, that was it.
“After leaving, I felt like I’d lost a massive weight from my shoulders.”
While Cllr Newmark’s comments may have been the final straw, Cllr Amron says he left the Liberal Democrats because he “just didn’t believe in their focus anymore”.
He says: “In Hertsmere, I saw them playing very much second fiddle to the Labour group.
“But the bunch of people I worked with in the Lib Dems are phenomenal, and I still get on really well with them.”
Is he expecting anybody else from the Liberal Democrats – or other groups – to join Hertsmere First?
“I’m not actively going to be going out encouraging people to join us.
“I would rather it just happen naturally.
“We’re more than happy to have a sit-down with anybody.
“I would be delighted, of course, if somebody approaches us in the coming weeks or months and we decide they’re the right person – I’d be bonkers not to say that – but I’m not actively going out and doing that.”
Cllr Amron concludes: “I never got into this for the power, the glory or the kudos.
“I’m just not interested.
“My late father-in-law [Victor Lyon, former leader of Barnet council] taught me that.
“He used to say to me ‘politics is a dirty business, there are too few people in it for the right reasons – we’re supposed to serve the public; most people are self-serving’.
“I still believe that.
“There are certainly some people there who seem to be more interested in themselves than in what is right for the community of Hertsmere.
“But I’m not here to cast aspersions.
“For me, for Alpha Collins, for Graeme Alexander, and for anybody else who wants to join us, this has got to be about securing Hertsmere’s future for the next thirty years.”
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