Mayor of Watford

The Mayor of Watford is the head of the borough council of Watford, Hertfordshire, England. The holder of the position is a directly elected mayor using the supplementary vote every four years. The current mayor of Watford is Peter Taylor, who was elected in May 2018 for the Liberal Democrats.

Mayor of Watford
Coat of arms of the Borough of Watford
Incumbent Peter Taylor since May 2018
Style	No courtesy title or style
Appointer	Electorate of Watford
Term length	Four years
Inaugural holder	Dorothy Thornhill (May 2002)
Succession	Quadrennial

History

Dorothy Thornhill was the first directly elected mayor of Watford; she was elected in May 2002. Thornhill was the first female directly elected mayor in England and the Liberal Democrats' first directly elected mayor. She was re-elected in May 2006, May 2010 and May 2014.

In the 2018 election, Peter Taylor, also member of the Liberal Democrats, was elected as Mayor of Watford.

Referendum

Mayor of Watford referendum
12 June 2001

Choice	Votes	%
Elected Mayor	7,636	51.7
Cabinet System	7,140	48.3
Required majority	50
Total votes	14,776	100.00
Registered voters and turnout	60,630[1]	24.5
Source: House of Commons Library[2]

Election results

The position was established after a referendum in 2001 and the first election was held in 2002.

2002

Watford Mayoral Election 2 May 2002 [3]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Liberal Democrats	Dorothy Thornhill	10,954	49.4%	2,519	13,473	71.9%	​​
	Labour	Vince Muspratt	4,899	22.1%	370	5,269	28.1%	​​
	Conservative	Gary Ling	4,746	21.4%				​​
	Green	Stephen Rackett	851	3.8%				​​
	Socialist Alliance	Paul Woodward	390	1.8%				​​
	Fat Cat	Tristram Cooke	330	1.5%				​​
	Liberal Democrats win

2006

Watford Mayoral Election 4 May 2006 [4]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Liberal Democrats	Dorothy Thornhill	11,963	51.2%				​​
	Conservative	Stephen O'Brien	4,838	20.7%				​​
	Labour	Ruth Ellis	4,062	17.4%				​​
	Green	Stephen Rackett	2,522	10.8%				​​
	Liberal Democrats hold

2010

Watford Mayoral Election 6 May 2010 [5]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Liberal Democrats	Dorothy Thornhill	19,153	45.9%	4,276	23,429	67.1%	​​
	Conservative	Stephen Johnson	10,403	24.9%	1,105	11,508	32.9%	​​
	Labour	Nigel Bell	10,029	24.0%				​​
	Green	Alex MacGregor-Mason	2,173	5.2%				​​
	Liberal Democrats hold

2014

Watford Mayoral Election 22 May 2014 [6]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Liberal Democrats	Dorothy Thornhill	11,741	45.90%	2,452	14,193	65.4%	​​
	Labour	Jagtar Dhindsa	6,577	25.71%	927	7,504	34.6%	​​
	UKIP	Philip Cox	3,789	14.81%				​​
	Conservative	Linda Topping	3,470	13.57%				​​
	Liberal Democrats hold

2018

Watford Mayoral Election 3 May 2018 [7]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Taylor	13,274	48.7%	2,657	15,931	61.6	​​
	Labour	Jagtar Dhindsa	9,223	33.8%	728	9,951	38.4	​​
	Conservative	George Jabbour	4,787	17.5%				​​
	Liberal Democrats hold

References

1. "Watford leads the way to elected mayor". Watford Observer. 13 July 2001. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
2. "Local Elections in England: 2 May 2002" (PDF). House of Commons Library. 9 May 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
3. "Election Results - Mayoral 2 May 2002". Watford Borough Council. 3 May 2002. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
4. "Election Results - Mayoral 4 May 2006". Watford Borough Council. 5 May 2006. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
5. "Election results - Mayoral 6 May 2010". Watford Borough Council. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
6. "Vote 2014: Watford mayoral election result". BBC News. 23 May 2014.
7. "Statement of Persons Nominated Watford Mayoral Election 3-5-18". Watford Borough Council. 6 April 2018.