Peter Taylor | |
---|---|
![]() Taylor in 2018 | |
Mayor of Watford | |
Assumed office 7 May 2018 | |
Preceded by | Dorothy Thornhill |
Hertfordshire County Councillor for Central Watford and Oxhey | |
Assumed office 2 May 2025 | |
Preceded by | Stephen Giles-Medhurst |
Majority | 1,311 (39.3%) |
Watford Borough Councillor for Oxhey | |
In office 7 May 2012 –7 May 2018 | |
Preceded by | Anthony Poole |
Succeeded by | Imran Hamid |
Personal details | |
Born | April 1980 (age 45) Preston,Yorkshire,England |
Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Spouse | Rachel |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh (MA) |
Peter Colin Taylor (born April 1980) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is the second Mayor of Watford. He was elected in the 2018 election,succeeding Dorothy Thornhill. [1] He was re-elected as mayor in 2022. [2] Taylor has also served as the Hertfordshire County Councillor for Central Watford and Oxhey since 2025. [3] He was a Watford Borough Councillor for Oxhey ward from 2012 to 2018,when he was elected Mayor. [4] [5]
Taylor was born in Preston in April 1980. [6] His father was a computer systems programmer for Midland Bank (now HSBC) and his mother was a childminder. He has three siblings. Taylor's family moved to Sheffield when he was seven,where he attended Notre Dame Catholic High School. He graduated with a Master of Arts degree in economics and politics from the University of Edinburgh. After graduation,he taught economics at St Dominic's Sixth Form College in Harrow on the Hill. [7] He continued to work in the education sector as assistant director of education for the Catholic Education Service,representing over 2000 Catholic schools in England and Wales,until his election as Mayor of Watford. [8]
Taylor worked as a research assistant for Alistair Carmichael,Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland,from December 2002 to August 2007. [9]
Taylor was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor for Oxhey ward in the 2012 Watford Borough Council election,with a majority of 757 votes. [4] He served in then-mayor Dorothy Thornhill's cabinet as deputy mayor and cabinet member for client services,overseeing the town's parks,leisure centres,bin collections and theatres. [10] He was re-elected as a councillor in 2016. [11]
Taylor was selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Watford in the 2018 mayoral election,which he won with 48.7% of the vote in the first round and 61.6% in the second. [5] The Watford Borough Council,led by Taylor,launched a bike hire scheme in collaboration with Beryl in March 2020. [12] That July,the council partnered with Arriva to launch a Watford operation of the company's on-demand bus service ArrivaClick,which ran until December 2023,citing low passenger numbers. [13] [14] He was re-elected as Mayor in 2022,winning 54.8% of the vote in the first round which bypassed the need for a second round. [15]
Taylor was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Central Watford and Oxhey in the 2025 Hertfordshire County Council election. [16] He won the seat with a majority of 1,311 votes. [3]
Taylor lives in Oxhey with his wife Rachel and their three children. [7] [17]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Peter Taylor | 1,850 | 55.4 | +6.6 | |
Reform UK | Neal Webber | 539 | 16.1 | +14.6 | |
Labour | Sonu Masania | 430 | 12.9 | –10.5 | |
Conservative | Peter Williams | 283 | 8.5 | –10.9 | |
Green | Matt Jones | 206 | 6.2 | –0.6 | |
TUSC | James O'Connor | 33 | 1.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,311 | 39.3 | +13.9 | ||
Turnout | 3,341 | 25.3 | –8.7 | ||
Registered electors | 13,196 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | –4.0 |
2022 Watford mayoral election [2] | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round | ||||
Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | ||||
Liberal Democrats | Peter Taylor | 12,895 | 54.8% | | ||||
Labour Co-op | Asif Khan | 6,234 | 26.5% | | ||||
Conservative | Binita Mehta-Parmar | 4,404 | 18.7% | | ||||
Turnout | 33.36 | |||||||
Liberal Democrats hold |
2018 Watford mayoral election [1] | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round | ||||
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% | | ||||
Turnout | 39.27 | |||||||
Liberal Democrats hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Iain Sharpe | 1,307 | |||
Liberal Democrats | Peter Taylor | 1,256 | |||
Liberal Democrats | Joanna Maestas | 1,247 | |||
Labour | Deborah Marchant | 338 | |||
Labour | Sue Sleeman | 312 | |||
Conservative | Haydon Chart | 308 | |||
Conservative | Dina Bhudia | 275 | |||
Labour | Stephen Vincent | 243 | |||
Green | Matthew Hale | 231 | |||
Conservative | Gail Martin | 230 | |||
TUSC | Mark O'Connor | 69 | |||
Turnout | |||||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Peter Taylor | 1,058 | 63.2 | +8.0 | |
Conservative | Dick Bamford | 301 | 18.0 | −4.7 | |
Labour | Sue Sleeman | 244 | 14.6 | −1.7 | |
Green | Eric Weatherly | 72 | 4.3 | −1.6 | |
Majority | 757 | 45.2 | |||
Turnout | 1,675 | 32.01 | |||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |