Peter Colin Taylor (born April 1980) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is the second Mayor of Watford. He was elected in the 2018 election, succeeding Dorothy Thornhill. He was re-elected as mayor in 2022. Taylor has also served as the

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

lor for Central Watford and Oxhey since

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. He was a

Watford Borough Council Watford Borough Council is the local authority for the Watford non-metropolitan district in the south-west of Hertfordshire, England. The council is based in the Town Hall on Hempstead Road. The council comprises 36 councillors plus a directly-el ...

lor for Oxhey ward from 2012 to 2018, when he was elected Mayor.

Early life and career

Taylor was born in Preston in April 1980. His father was a computer systems programmer for

Midland Bank Midland Bank plc was one of the Big Four (banks)#United Kingdom, Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birming ...

(now

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

) and his mother was a childminder. He has three siblings. Taylor's family moved to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

when he was seven, where he attended Notre Dame Catholic High School. He graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in economics and politics from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. After graduation, he taught economics at St Dominic's Sixth Form College in

Harrow on the Hill Harrow on the Hill or Harrow-on-the-Hill is a locality and historic village in the borough of London Borough of Harrow, Harrow in Greater London, England. The name refers to Harrow Hill, ,Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) ...

. He continued to work in the education sector as assistant director of education for the

Catholic Education Service The Catholic Education Service (CES) is an agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW), whose object is the advancement of the Christian religion, primarily through education. History The CES has its roots in the ...

, representing over 2000 Catholic schools in England and Wales, until his election as Mayor of Watford.

Political career

Taylor worked as a research assistant for

Alistair Carmichael Alexander Morrison "Alistair" CarmichaelFull name is given as "CARMICHAEL, Alexander Morrison, commonly known as Alistair Carmichael" in the returning officer'2010 general election declaration (born 15 July 1965) is a British politician who has ...

, Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, from December 2002 to August 2007.

Borough Councillor

Taylor was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor for Oxhey ward in the 2012 Watford Borough Council election, with a majority of 757 votes. He served in then-mayor Dorothy Thornhill's cabinet as deputy mayor and cabinet member for client services, overseeing the town's parks, leisure centres, bin collections and theatres. He was re-elected as a councillor in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Mayor of Watford

Taylor was selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Watford in the 2018 mayoral election, which he won with 48.7% of the vote in the first round and 61.6% in the second. The

, led by Taylor, launched a bike hire scheme in collaboration with

Beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium Silicate minerals#Cyclosilicates, silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and Aquamarine (gem), aquamarine. Naturally occurring Hex ...

in March 2020. That July, the council partnered with

Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...

to launch a Watford operation of the company's on-demand bus service ArrivaClick, which ran until December 2023, citing low passenger numbers. He was re-elected as Mayor in 2022, winning 54.8% of the vote in the first round which bypassed the need for a second round.

County Councillor

Taylor was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Central Watford and Oxhey in the 2025 Hertfordshire County Council election. He won the seat with a majority of 1,311 votes.

Personal life

Taylor lives in Oxhey with his wife Rachel and their three children.

Electoral performance

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

Mayor of Watford

Watford Borough Council Watford Borough Council is the local authority for the Watford non-metropolitan district in the south-west of Hertfordshire, England. The council is based in the Town Hall on Hempstead Road. The council comprises 36 councillors plus a directly-el ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Peter Living people Mayors of places in Hertfordshire Liberal Democrat (UK) elected mayors 1980 births