The position of the ruling Conservative group on the County Council on the controversial lights switch-off proposals was illuminated at the Full Council on Tuesday, 21st February, when one of the Conservatives suggested that she didn’t know what people were doing going around past midnight, and that anyone who objected to the plans “should buy a torch.”

Chris White, the Lib Dem Group leader and Councillor for St Albans Central, commented: ‘The Conservative councillor’s comments show just how out of touch they are. When we recently showed the plans for the switch-off to the public– something that the County Council refused to do, relying instead on members’ feedback – I was approached by a number of residents who pointed out that pub workers, for example, don’t get out of work long past midnight. This is clearly a much wider problem: I know many restaurant workers don’t get out of work a lot later than that.’