Lib Dem Councillors Condemn Minority Conservative Administration
Liberal Democrat councillors have condemned Herefordshire’s minority Conservative administration after it emerged that a Liberal Democrat motion agreed in July to pursue advanced manufacturing and defence investment has simply not been acted on – just as the Government names 13 areas for new munitions and energetics factories, with Herefordshire nowhere on the list.
In July, Council backed, with only two votes against, a detailed Liberal Democrat motion which required the administration to:
Develop a “Herefordshire Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Prospectus”, highlighting the county’s strategic readiness to host defence-related investment, including a munitions facility, with a focus on clean and sustainable manufacturing
Write formally to the Secretary of State for Defence, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Department for Business & Trade urging them to consider Herefordshire for one of the new factories
The motion explicitly tied any defence-linked investment to strong environmental and ethical standards, with a focus on modern, low-carbon manufacturing, apprenticeships and community benefit.
Four months on, councillors learned this week that:
The letter to Ministers was never sent
The prospectus remains in draft form
On Wednesday 19th November the Ministry of Defence announced 13 areas including neighbouring Monmouthshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire as locations for new “factories of the future”, backed by £1.5 billion and at least 1,000 skilled jobs across the UK. Herefordshire is not among them.
Councillor Terry James, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Herefordshire Council said
“This is particularly shameful inaction on behalf of the Conservative led council. How hard is it to write a letter letting the government know we’re open for business? They've had months and months to pull their fingers out. Herefordshire has a thriving defence and security sector and a long track record in defence manufacturing. I simply can’t understand why the Conservatives would sit on their hands when the future of people’s jobs and businesses are on the line.”
“This administration simply isn’t working. It isn’t working for the people of the county and it isn’t working for businesses and workers. I don’t know who they actually are working for.”
Cllr Ed O’Driscoll (Liberal Democrat, Ross-on-Wye East), who proposed the original motion, said:
“This is exactly what we warned about. Council did the right thing in July. We put party politics aside and agreed a clear, practical plan to get Herefordshire to the front of the queue for clean, high-skill defence manufacturing. Instead of acting, Cabinet and senior officers have moved at a glacial pace. The letter was never sent, the prospectus is still in draft, and now the Government has named its initial sites including our neighbours in Monmouthshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire while Herefordshire isn’t even on the pitch. That is not bad luck. It is a failure of political leadership and basic follow-through.”
“The administration has spent considerable timing talking up 2026 as their ‘Year of Delivery’. On this evidence, 2025 has definitely been their “Year of non-Delivery” and Herefordshire residents pay the price in lost jobs, lost skills and lost investment.”