Harlow Council leader Dan Swords on local elections: “We’re Building Harlow’s Future. Let’s finish the job.”
Elections / Mon 16th Feb 2026 at 07:03pm
THE LEADER of Harlow Council, Dan Swords has said the “very future” of the town is at stake at the local elections on May 7th.
Conservative councillor Dan Swords said: “We’re Building Harlow’s Future. Let’s finish the job.”
The Government has today confirmed that on Thursday 7th May, a third of Harlow Council will face an election. The Leader of Harlow Council, Cllr Dan Swords, has issued a rallying call ahead of the elections in 80 days:
“On 7th May, the people of Harlow will decide who they trust to lead our town – and with that vote comes a choice about the very future of the place we call home.
“A choice about whether the rebuilding of our town centre continues – or whether that promise is lost once and for all.
“A choice about whether Harlow homes are for Harlow people.
“A choice about whether Council Tax stays frozen.
“A choice about whether the plan we’ve set in motion is seen through to completion.
“My message could not be clearer: We’re Building Harlow’s Future. Let’s finish the job.
“And together, we have already achieved so much.
Council Tax frozen every single year since 2021 when we took control from Labour.
The largest regeneration programme delivered by any council in the UK.
A town centre transformed – not by promises, but by action. From Terminus House to Broad Walk… Market Square to the Playhouse Quarter… the Harvey Centre and everything in between.
Ensuring Harlow homes are for Harlow families.
More council homes built than in the past 30 years combined.
Housing repair wait times cut by 90%.
Pride restored in our neighbourhoods.
Antisocial behaviour reduced by 38%.
The return of the Town Show, a new live music venue, a new town centre, Christmas Markets, and a renewed sense of Harlow spirit.
Billions of pounds of investment secured to build a better Harlow for your children and grandchildren.
“And yet – we have so much more to do. So much more to finish.
“This election is not about national politics. It’s not about Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch or Nigel Farage. It’s not about Labour, Conservatives or Reform. It’s about Harlow.
“I understand why people feel angry about the Government – I am angry about them too.
“But this election is about our town and where we go next. It is about who runs Harlow. No matter the result of this council election, the Government will not change but the town you live in will.
“You must be clear in your mind that there are only two outcomes: either the Local Conservatives and I continue to lead the Council and finish the job we’ve started – or everything stops under a council with no overall control.
“Reform cannot win enough seats to run the Council. Labour cannot run the Council. But either party can bring progress to a halt.
“Only one third of seats are up for election. No other party can take control – but we can lose ours.
“And if that happens, make no mistake: everything we are delivering stops. Regeneration stops. Momentum stops. And the promise of a better future for Harlow ends.
“This is the most important election in Harlow’s history.
“I love this town. I believe in its future.
“And I believe – despite the doubters – that Harlow’s best days are ahead of us, not behind us. That we are turning our town around after decades of decline so you can once again feel proud to call it home.
“Every hour of every day, we are working flat out to deliver for you and your family. We are delivering what many said was impossible.
“Do we get everything right? Of course, not. But I can say hand on heart that no one can match our passion or plan. They do not know how to run a £350 million a year organisation. They will promise you things they wouldn’t even know how to deliver and crucially, they cannot run the Council at the end of this election – the only alternative is that no one is in control of it.
“Running Harlow Council is not a job for the faint hearted. It’s not a bit of fun because you’re interested in national politics. It needs your heart and soul, it needs clear leadership and a team that dedicate their lives to delivering for our town.
“So if you want to see the promises we have made come true, hope is not enough.
“You have to vote for it.
“On Thursday 7th May, vote for me and the Local Conservatives to continue running Harlow Council.
“We’re Building Harlow’s Future. Let’s finish the job.”
Nicholas Taylor
2026-02-16 20:22:49
I agree that the very future of the town is at stake on 7 May, but it is not a future that I share with Cllr Swords. At the outset readers will remember that the house building programme largely dates to 2019, before the Conservatives took control of the council. A Party which for decades did everything it could to stop councils from building homes. It is a Party which wants to see numerous high rise flat blocks built in the Town Centre, one which only last week gave itself permission to build on the Post Office car park without a single affordable home. It is a Party which is wasting £7 million on repaving Broadwalk and Market Square. It is a Party spending millions more on a bus station just yards from the existing one which was only 20 years old. It is a Party spending yet more millions which will leave the theatre one of the smallest in the region. It is a Party which took thousands of people of its housing waiting list. It is a Party which leaves families living in flats who in the past would have been moved to a house. It is a Party whose boss at ECC wants to see Harlow in a Unitary Authority with other authorities as far away as Maldon. It is a Party who said the council was to busy to hold elections in May but then said it was going to take on the huge task of organising an Town Show. Nicholas Taylor, Leader of the Harlow Residents Alliance
George
2026-02-16 21:09:35
Nicholas, may I ask, do you think that labour would have actually built the new homes in their plans. By all accounts they built very few.
Nicholas Taylor
2026-02-16 22:55:15
George, I am not here to defend Labour of course, but the Harlow Residents Alliance like to deal in facts, as I did in my earlier post. I have no doubt that the areas identified in the Local Development Plan would have been built whoever was in charge of the Council. Those at John Dowdell Close were already under construction and plans were afoot for those at the former Lister House and Elm Hatch site to name three.
Eddie
2026-02-17 07:10:52
Nic, You are just a spanner in the cogs of the rebuilding of our Town Centre.
Ted
2026-02-17 07:54:41
I agree with every word Dan Swords has written. The town is being reborn under his leadership. Forget who you vote for in the General Election. If you want your town to thrive and see new houses and Town Centre, and jobs. Vote Conservative in Harlow. Remember Labour could not come up with a alternative budget, and Reform in Harlow have no experience.
Nicholas Taylor
2026-02-17 09:18:16
Eddie and Ted, I simply don't agree with our Town Centre being "reborn" by building half a dozen tower blocks up to 16 storeys high, with little affordable housing let alone a single council home, the removal of at least three public car parks and leaving the town with one of the smallest theatres in the region. I share the view that Reform is not the answer and neither is Local Government reform, which could see power based in Chelmsford, with no Town Council or Parish Councils to provide a forum for public opinion. We will have to agree to disagree.
Les Bayliss
2026-02-17 10:33:54
Dan Swords is a carreer, opportunist politician. He will only make decisions that further his own interests which may or may not benefit Harlow. The cancellations of local elections were at the requests of those local councils not the Government.
Derek Clark
2026-02-17 10:43:14
Fact, Harlow has stood still for years, it's been a very depressing place, but now it's moving forward with Dan Swords at the helm, it's beginning to make me be proud to live in Harlow, Since Dan Swords and his team have been in charge Harlow has moved on and there is no doubting that. It takes commitment and knowledge to do what they have started and financed, something other parties are not able to do as proven by how little was done before the current Conservative majority and it's leader, they have done more in the last couple of years than all the parties before them who sat on there back sides and took the money and done very little, that's one thing Swords has not done, his a hard working guy who knows how to achieve goals and how to make the money work, the rest of the party's are just hot air and no action, if you look at how much has been done and is being done, you will also realise that this leadership will attract shops back to the town and business back to the industrial estates and with it more employment in our town, we can all see this has started to happen and yet look around, councils are going bust and towns are losing shops and business, what this town council is doing is the reverse and nobody can deny that not even Taylor.
Scott H
2026-02-17 12:04:27
Cllr Swords is the happy inheritor of his predecessors' efforts to secure once in a generation funding for Harlow. He didn't create the funding and no council leader was going to sit idle with the resultant millions of the levelling up, town funds etc on offer. So he is putting the funds to work as would any other even semi responsible council leader. However, his vision is for a Stratford mark 2 and a haphazard approach to town planning. And let's remember that Conservatives are much better at spending other people's money than they are at generating it....14 years of evidence for this, does anyone really think Cllr Swords is the outlier among Conservatives? Is that really very likely? The other take-away from Cllr Swords' plea above, is that only HE can run Harlow. Its the old line that the Tories are born to rule and the only ones who can do so. Again, we 've seen where that complacency and arrogance gets us....population up by 7 million on their watch, national debt tripled, NHS on its knees, townhalls broke up and down the land. So beyond the promise of glass and steel for the town centre, he offers painted underpasses (Essex CC jurisdiction, not Cllr Swords') and an average saving of 25 pence per week (yes, 25p per week) off of council tax thanks to the freeze. The promises are hollow and delivery of a rebuilt Harlow is a long way off and fraught with risk, after all, who tries to rebuild everything-all-at-once? In the private sector that would be an immensely risky thing to do, but then why should Cllr Swords care? None of it is his money....and that's the problem with Cllr Swords' brand of 'casino' Conservatism.
Chate Dosanjh
2026-02-17 13:59:42
There is enough progress seen that encourages me to see it continuing. Clearing the blocks near the town centre which caused a lot of the anti social behaviour is also a positive move. People can say he got the building grant, but I guess it takes a good application.
Resident
2026-02-17 14:09:06
Everywhere is a building site,finish one before you start another
Adam
2026-02-17 14:40:57
Dan, the reason you cancelled the election is the conservative's are worried about maintaining control of the council, nationally you governed for 14 years and destroyed the UK, lockdown, failed Brexit, high taxes, large state, I could go on all day. Labour are currently governing and are even worse, not an hour goes by without a u turn. The people of this country especially the parts that actually pay taxes and work are increasingly fed up of the pandering, the managed decline, high taxes, no growth, insane housing and energy costs etc provided by the legacy parties of labour, lib dem and conservatives. You have done well for the town but for cancelling the elections was party first, and it would not hurt your own longer term political ambitions.
Terence Terrell
2026-02-17 16:41:44
It was but a few years ago that Harlow's Labour council was adjudged to be the worst in Essex at paying out business grants. And they were warned that if they didn't distribute said grants, they would lose the next allocation of funding. That aside, I cannot remember a time in Harlow's history that I personally could tell you the name of a councilor with any presence, nous, or personality. In Dan Swords, we have an intelligent, driven, personable council leader who cares passionately about this Town of Harlow. You only had to see the expression on his face as he broke the news of the malevolent, willful loss of our beloved bandstand to see just how much he was upset and shocked. The scale and speed of Harlow's Phoenix-like rise from the ashes of disrepair and neglect has been nothing short of heartwarming and miraculous, producing in me a feeling that I'd never experienced before as regards Harlow, namely pride. It would be an act of abject dereliction if the Conservative council under the superb stewardship of Dan Swords were not allowed to keep hold of the baton of change that they picked off the floor when dropped spectacularly by the Labour party, and complete the rebirth of Harlow as a wonderful town to work and live in. I just hope that.people will vote for the party that will deliver for.themselves.and their Town, and not for.national issues and parties who just do not care. Vote on local issues, not on national woes.
Vote Tories Locally for Harlow. But don’t vote them nationally
2026-02-17 19:12:01
You cannot vote for Harlow Labour. I experienced the decline of the town under them. Harlow Conservatives are reviving and bringing Harlow to a up and coming town again. By 2038, Harlow will be the place to be. Reform locally have been poor around the country. It’s only because the previous national Tories were not good that it affects Dan Swords. He has done amazing things and needs to be given the chance to finish the job. I say vote Tories at this election and if unhappy in the next few years, then make the change but not now. A change of council leader will stall a lot of the progress being made.
Robert
2026-02-17 20:00:03
Vote Reform.... let's send them a message
Born in Harlow
2026-02-17 22:44:42
Quite simply, I will vote for the first local party to confirm that, if in power, it will not allow Harlow to be swallowed whole by a greater unitary authority or paired with either Uttlesford or Epping Forest DCs. Local democracy means ‘local’ Councillors, living locally and voting for local measures. I don’t want Buckhurst Hill ‘councillors’ or those from Saffron Walden, saying what happens at the Stow or in Potter Street. HGGT will bring nothing to Harlow, other than congestion. Harlow is for Harlow people. I’ll vote for Harlow, .., it’s up to the local Councillors and their Parties to stand against this undemocratic merger!
Tom Compton
2026-02-18 03:24:09
I'll have been a Labour voter my entire life as well as a lifetime Harlow resident having been born here 1969. I am telling you need disgusted that's how the current UK government is operating as well as being very disappointed in the 14 years of Conservative government. If there were general election tomorrow I really do not know which way I would vote. However, we need to remember that this election in Harlow is NOT a general election, but a LOCAL one for our local council. On the one will be voting for the conservatives because I feel they have genuinely focused on improving Harlow. I think it is important to remember that this current local conservative council initially reduced council tax and has frozen it year or year whilst in power. They have started the biggest house building project the town has seen for years. They are rejuvenating the town center, particularly Market Square, that was left to fall into ruin under the previous Labour local council. They are bringing back important community events such as the Town Show, which will help showcase the many great things we can be proud of taking place in Harlow on a day-to-day basis. For the first time in living memory they are managing the finances, spending to improve the town, yet generating an income to reduce the pressures on our council taxes. I for one will be voting for a council that improves our Harlow and based on recent form there is only one party and one leader to vote for. The local conservative party and Dan Swords will be getting my vote as they are the only party ignoring the national noise and focusing locally on Harlow.
Tom Compton
2026-02-19 05:39:51
Initially cancelling the election could be seen as a political move. 32 local councils cancelled, with the majority, 21, being Labour. I think Harlow Conservative led council used this option to avoid some seats being lost. This is the political aspect of all of this. Now that the Labour Government have been told they were wrong to do this, the local.elections are back on and it is important that Harlow residents appreciate that this is a LOCAL election. We are voting for our town, not nationally. Being selfish, we need to look at who will be best to continue to improve our town. Based upon that, we can only deal with facts, evidence and track record. Reform: No track record, little experience in office at local Harlow Council, high risk. Labour: Poor track record, squirrelled away finances, no tangible investment in our town whilst in office for many years, continual increase in our taxes for very little return. Conservatives: Experienced councillors, clear vision, evidence of delivering on election promises, tax freezes, greater spending and now income generation beyond taxes. Even as a Labour supporter, this is a no brainier. Vote for who is delivering and let them continue with the great work they are doing locally for our Harlow. Vote for the Conservatives local council.
Anne
2026-04-17 19:36:16
Can anyone tell me why, if Dan Swords and the Harlow conservatives are so great at securing funds, Harlow is still permanently hideously riddled with potholes everywhere? Go vote for potholes everywhere all the time going by the comments here.
A
2026-04-17 19:40:23
Agreed that Dan Swords and Harlow Conservatives have shown their true face in aligning with many Labour led countries so 2026 local elections would not go ahead, something that the government later withdrew, after legal advice that the plan was potentially unlawful. Dan Swords and Harlow Conservatives uncritically went along with a potentially unlawful decision by this Government, it is clear why (same reason as those Labour led councils).
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