Derek has lived in Stanborough for 21 years. He has represented the ward on Watford Borough Council since 1994 and has been County Councillor for Woodside Stanborough since 2001. When Dorothy Thornhill became Mayor of Watford in 2002 she asked Derek to join her cabinet as portfolio holder for Environment and Technical Services. In addition last year he was asked by Dorothy to be her deputy.

As a member of Dorothy’s team he has been closely involved in sorting out the mess that the Labour Party left. He said ‘What we inherited from Labour was scandalous. The Council was a complete horror story and the task we faced was immense. However being involved in turning the Council round in such a short time has been immensely interesting and challenging.’

Derek is particularly interested in environmental issues and part of his brief within the cabinet has been to increase Watford ’s recycling rate, which is now on schedule to meet the target set for it of 30% this year.

On the County council Derek has been very disappointed by the performance of the conservative administration in tackling the poor condition of the roads and pavements within the county as a whole, and Watford in particular. He has been especially critical of the management of the main contractors that the County employs. One example of this was the debacle of the Sheepcot Lane traffic calming which he worked very hard to get replaced.

He said ‘As well as the big issues like Sheepcot Lane , and working behind the scenes to keep Leavesden Green School open, I have been involved in helping many residents with smaller problems. These smaller problems can be extremely important to the quality of life of somebody and being able to help in this way is one of the things that makes being a Councillor so rewarding’