ST ALBANS LIBERAL DEMOCRATS CELEBRATE HISTORIC CLEAN SWEEP IN COUNTY ELECTIONS

4.22.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 7th Jun 2009

Sandy Walkington with St Albans Liberal Democrat County Councillors elected on June 4th 2009

There was an historic turning point on Thursday June 4th when St Albans Liberal Democrats completed a clean sweep of all eight Hertfordshire County Council divisions lying wholly or partly within the St Albans parliamentary constituency boundaries, making two gains from the Conservatives in the process.

"This is the first time any party has achieved a clean sweep for nearly thirty years," said Sandy Walkington, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for St Albans. "Then it was the Conservatives who triumphed. This time they have struggled to achieve a mere third of the votes cast at a time when Conservatives were largely progressing elsewhere. There is no record of the Conservatives ever having failed to achieve a single council election win. It is seismic. As ever St Albans stands out against the crowd."

Across the St Albans constituency the Liberal Democrat candidates polled 43.9 percent, 4.4% up from last year's local elections. The Conservatives slumped to 33.3 percent, down 3.9 percent from last year. For Labour the result was a catastrophic 11.5 percent vote share, down 4.5 percent in just a year.

"It is quite clear that the Liberal Democrat "Six to Fix" messages about the terrible Conservative record of broken roads and pavements, their failure to plan for school places, the deeply problematic adult care services, and their financial incompetence in losing £28 million in Iceland while doubling council tax in ten years struck home with the St Albans electorate."

The Liberal Democrats also made gains elsewhere in Hertfordshire and now form the official opposition at County Hall led by St Albans Central councillor Chris White. "I look forward to working with them on the issues which the voters have declared to be so important - particularly roads and pavements and getting adequate school provision for local children," Sandy said.

"The other elephant in the room was of course the MP expense issue. The message from the voters could not be more pointed. We need the earliest possible General Election to clear the air. It is quite disgraceful that Labour MPs should be seeking to eke out their salaries for one last desperate year when the very institutions of parliamentary democracy are in meltdown before our eyes," Sandy concluded.