Oliver Cooper during his time on Camden Council

THE former leader of the Camden Conservatives, who lost his seat in last year’s council elections, is back in office after becoming a councillor in Hertfordshire today (Friday).

Oliver Cooper was the vocal leader of the opposition in the Town Hall chamber up until last May when the Liberal Democrats drummed the Tories out of the Belsize ward.

There are no elections this year in London but Cllr Cooper is now heavily involved in the party’s operation in Watford, where he is the chairman of the local association and today was elected to the Three Rivers District Council.

While the picture around the country was of the Conservative Party shipping seats on local authorities to Labour and the Lib Dems, he tweeted that he was “delighted to be elected to represent my home village of Chorleywood North and Sarratt”, adding: “Delighted that Watford Tories secured swings in all of our five wards in Three Rivers of at least 4 per cent towards the Conservatives: and an incredible 10 per cent swing to the Conservatives in Carpenders Park. I’m a very proud Watford Conservatives Association Chairman.”

His success contrasts with the situation in Camden, where only three Conservative candidates survived last year’s landslide victory for Labour. The Lib Dems overtook them to become the official opposition.