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!
21 Jul 2025
Runnymede Liberal Democrats
Working Hard for Runnymede All Year Round
Local News
Surrey families know the real story behind Conservative claims
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
20 Jun 2025
New £1.3 million fund puts Runnymede communities in control of local improvements
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.
11 Jun 2025
Putting care at the heart of politics: Ed Davey's message resonates in Runnymede
How the Liberal Democrat leader's deeply personal approach to politics is already making a difference locally
29 May 2025
Runnymede Council meetings now live streamed: A win for transparency
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.
21 May 2025
Financial Inclusion Project transforms lives in Runnymede
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.
10 May 2025
Surrey County Council News
Surrey Lib Dems attack “brutal” Tory cuts as millions are slashed from services
Liberal Democrat councillors have strongly criticised the Conservative-run County Council's plans to axe millions from essential services for Surrey residents, which were finally revealed today.
28 Mar 2017
STATEMENT FROM CLLR HAZEL WATSON ON SURREY'S DECISION TO GIVE NOTICE TO QUIT THE LGA
Commenting on the news that Cllr David Hodge has unilaterally given notice for Surrey County Council to leave the Local Government Association (LGA) in a year's time, Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today: "I am appalled by this decision. The Local Government Association is the key organisation within local government which enables the county council to lobby central government and make its case for resources and funding. The LGA has helped Surrey to save money, enabling the county council to recover millions of pounds back after the Icelandic banking crash. The county council needs a voice at the top table and this short sighted move takes that voice away. Only three councils in the country are not members of the LGA, so we are moving from the membership of a large and influential group to an isolated position on the fringes. "Cllr Hodge should have consulted widely within the county council before even considering such a rash and intemperate move. Yet again
28 Mar 2017
REVEALED: Tory Council suppressed damaging financial report for months
Conservative-run Surrey County Council has been forced to release a damaging financial report which warned in December 2016 that a 15% council tax referendum was "highly likely to fail". The report, produced by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA), cost nearly £25,000 and was commissioned in December but was only released to councillors on March 21st 2017, six weeks after the Council's budget meeting. The report states "In CIPFA's view a referendum is highly likely to fail" and goes on to note that the Council's financial position is "extremely worrying" and "the absence of a credible cost-reduction plan", and that "The council's financial plans are not robust and it is at risk of becoming financially unsustainable". It concludes that the council's financial resilience is "dependant on winning a referendum process, high levels of unidentified savings and rapidly declining reserves - not a good place!". Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council,
23 Mar 2017
Lib Dem success as Surrey agrees to oppose school cuts but headteacher warns of 4-day week
Liberal Democrat Councillors have successfully called for Surrey County Council to oppose the Government's funding proposals which could leave schools in Surrey with a £37m hole in their budgets by 2019/20. It follows the release of a letter from a Surrey Headteacher warning his local Conservative MP that schools in Surrey may be forced to implement a 4-day week. Cllr Will Forster, who moved the motion at a Council meeting yesterday, said:
22 Mar 2017
STATEMENT BY CLLR HAZEL WATSON ON MOTION OF NO CONFIDENCE
Cllr Hazel Watson said today:
21 Mar 2017
People power saves 465 bus!
Liberal Democrat councillors and residents have welcomed the news that the well-used 465 bus service from Kingston to Dorking, via Leatherhead, has been guaranteed for the next five years. Cllr Stephen Cooksey, Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Dorking South and the Holmwoods, said today:
21 Mar 2017
UK Lib Dem news
Health, Care & the NHS
Never Again: Justice for Contaminated Blood Victims
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.
JBF
22 Sep 2025
Home Affairs
Improving Access To Justice
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.
BM
22 Sep 2025
![New Homes [Image: Tim Prater]](/fileadmin/_processed_/0/a/csm_newhomes_23c101933f.jpg)
Housing
Ending Fleecehold and the Great Property Rip-Off
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.
GA
22 Sep 2025