My name is James Bond (yes - really!) and I am the Conservative candidate for Hatfield North county division and Hatfield Central borough ward.

Full statement

As you know, the local elections in 2020 were postponed to this year as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, meaning this year we have a full set of borough council and county council elections taking place at the same time on Thursday 6th May. I am pleased to let you know I am standing in both elections.

We may have met already - I had the pleasure of speaking with many Hatfield residents face-to-face when I stood to become your borough councillor in May 2019, and again at the beginning of last year when I started campaigning for the postponed 2020 elections. I am hugely fond of Welwyn Hatfield - I live here with my family and I am proud to call it home.

My time in the army and working for the police service in South Africa has taken me all over the world, but this is the place in which I’ve enjoyed living the most.

To me, local representatives should prioritise getting to know people personally and discussing the issues which matter to them. With this in mind, I was shocked and quite disappointed to hear many Hatfield people I spoke to when I was campaigning say I am the first local candidate who has knocked on their door to try and speak to them personally. Some people said they felt as if their councillors take the fact they will be re-elected for granted.

Of course, it has not been possible for me to get out and meet residents for a long time now, but in the meantime I have been busy getting stuck into a number of local issues which have been brought to my attention, including a housing situation just off Lemsford Road and a parking problem in Birchwood to name a couple.

As soon as it is possible I would be very keen to meet you if you have any local issues or opinions you would like to discuss.