Lib Dems select candidates for triple by-election in Addlestone
Meet your local Lib Dem team standing in the Addlestone by-elections on 21st August 2025!
Meet your local Lib Dem team standing in the Addlestone by-elections on 21st August 2025!
Surrey's Conservative leader is trying to rewrite history as his council faces dissolution - but families across our county know the real story of Tory failure
Runnymede Borough Council has launched an exciting new £1.3 million fund that will directly benefit local residents through improved infrastructure and enhanced public spaces across the borough.
How the Liberal Democrat leader's deeply personal approach to politics is already making a difference locally
After years of advocacy by Liberal Democrat councillors, Runnymede Borough Council has finally introduced live streaming for council meetings, making local democracy more accessible to residents across the borough.
Runnymede Borough Council's innovative financial inclusion project has delivered remarkable results since its launch in April 2024, helping vulnerable residents manage debt while recovering in excess of £1.5 million for the council.
Commenting on the letter published by OFSTED today, Councillor Chris Botten, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Children & Families, said:
Liberal Democrats have called upon Surrey County Council to improve and expand its provision of services to children with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND). The County Council spends a total of £237 million on SEND services for children and young people, educates 822 SEND students outside of the county, and spends nearly £27 million on travel costs for SEND students. Liberal Democrat county councillors have tabled a motion, to be discussed at Council next week, calling for the Conservative-administration to invest in more SEND provision within Surrey, in order to reduce the number of placements outside of the county, as well as reducing travel costs and times for children and parents alike.
A petition of over 2,000 signatures was today presented to a meeting of Surrey County Council's Cabinet, calling for Surrey's Performing Arts Library to be saved. The petition, which was launched by Liberal Democrat county councillors in September, was handed in by Ges Ray, Vice-Chair of the Leith Hill Music Festival. Recommendations as to the future of the service will be proposed by the Communities Select Committee at their meeting in February 2018, with a final decision taken by the Council's Cabinet in March.
Liberal Democrat county councillors have expressed their concern after it was revealed that Surrey County Council's spending on consultants has more than doubled from the previous year. Following an information request to the County Council by Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, it was revealed that spending on consultants rose from £305,000 in 2015/16 to £663,420 in 2016/17 - a staggering rise of 118%. The maximum day rate paid was a shocking £1800 per day - meaning that at least one consultant working for the Tory administration was earning the equivalent of £468,000 a year. Cllr Hazel Watson said today: "At a time when the County Council is under extreme financial pressure and cutting vital services, spending on consultants should not be going up and certainly not by 118%. The Conservative administration cannot on the one hand say they have been forced to cut services because there is a lack of funding and at the same time double spending in areas such as this. "This use of consultants need
Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today: "This Budget was a missed opportunity...
Liberal Democrat county councillors today welcomed the decision by Conservative-run Surrey County Council to amend its unpopular street lighting policy. The policy, which was introduced in 2016 and early 2017, saw thousands of street lights turned off across the county without any consultation with the residents affected. The change of policy means that lights will stay on until 1am rather than midnight from Thursday 23rd November 2017.
The contaminated blood scandal is one of the gravest injustices in NHS history. We must honour victims with recognition, dignity, and compensation – and ensure no one ever suffers from such injustice again.
Years of Conservative cuts have hollowed out the legal aid system, leaving millions without access to timely legal advice. Our new policy will legal aid a guaranteed right, ensure no one is left without help.
Millions of people are still trapped in England’s broken leasehold system. Our plan will end the leasehold rip-off, strengthen building safety, and give residents the control, fairness, and dignity they deserve in their own homes.