East Herts councillor retires after '105 years' of public service

Peter Ruffles MBE is to step down after serving as a Hertfordshire councillor for "105 years"

A councillor who is retiring after serving for "105 years" has advised others not to develop "a thick skin".

East Herts District councillor Peter Ruffles, 80, will not contest this year's local elections for the first time since 1976.

He spent 16 years on Hertfordshire County Council, 47 years serving East Herts District Council and 42 years on Hertford Town Council.

His simultaneous roles amount to more than a century of public service.

Mr Ruffles, MBE, said representing communities was about "getting little things right, not big statements".

The Conservative councillor for Hertford Bengeo ward added: "The worst thing councillors can do is develop a thick skin.

"They develop a thick skin because they want to handle the criticism.

"But when you do that, you don't talk about your own feelings, but you also begin to brush away genuine concerns that people have about their community.

"When you stop caring, you may as well resign," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Ruffles said that as a result of serving for so long, he saw changes in East Hertfordshire "every decade or so".

He said: "I'm most proud of the smaller things: getting play areas a lick of paint and visiting all 70 parish churches when I was chair of the planning committee, listening to people at a more humble level than we do during the election campaigns.

"Caring about the people who we live with is hugely important."