Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst has apologised for wrongly claiming to have the support of Labour and the Green Party in a letter to residents.
Cllr Giles-Medhurst, Leader of Three Rivers District Council, is standing in the upcoming Hertfordshire County Council elections for Abbots Langley.
The letter, signed by cllr Giles-Medhurst, stated: “The next election will be so close between myself and the Conservative candidate, so every vote will count. Labour and the Green Party can’t win here and are backing me to ensure the Conservatives lose.”
The letter sparked fury from the parties it mentioned, both of which are fielding candidates in the election.
Speaking to ABBOTSnews, cllr Giles-Medhurst explained: “The letter was organised centrally – unfortunately, I didn’t see it before it was sent. It should have said Green Party and Labour ‘supporters’ were backing me. We know some backers of Labour and the Greens intend to offer their support to me, and the letter should have said that.
“I’m sorry it was sent out like that. Going forward, I will personally check everything that goes out in my name.”
Councillor Stephen Cox, leader of Three Rivers Labour, said: “It was a bare-faced lie, and has been acknowledged as such. He should be ashamed of himself. He has been around long enough to know better.”
A spokesperson for the Three Rivers Green Party said: “We were very disappointed to read it because it was clearly untrue and it seemed rather desperate. We are putting up a candidate in the Abbots Langley election so nothing changed there for us.”
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