First of all, I would like to say a huge congratulations to the 56 new Liberal Democrat councillors elected across West Surrey in last week’s elections, including all 14 seats here in Woking.

I want to thank the public for voting for us and placing your trust in us to run the new authority. This is a huge endorsement for my work as your MP and the Liberal Democrats’ work in turning around the mess left by the Conservatives, who effectively bankrupted Woking Borough Council.

From April next year both Woking Borough Council and Surrey County Council will cease to exist; in the meantime, there’s a lot of work to do to make sure the new West Surrey Council can hit the ground running in April 2027.

There are some enormous challenges to overcome – not least of which is the question of debt. Woking’s debt is well documented – but there’s far more than that spread across the new authority.

I’m pleased to have secured a historic £500 million write-off from the Government, but without further support the new authority is set to inherit more than an estimated £4 billion from day one. This is obviously unsustainable.

It’s something that myself and my fellow West Surrey Lib Dem MPs, Dr Al Pinkerton and Zöe Franklin, will be pushing the Government to address over the coming months.

On top of this, West Surrey Council will cover an enormous area, from Staines to Haslemere. We don't yet know where its offices will be, which staff will be carried through from existing authorities, what departments will be responsible for which services and who will lead them.

It’s a huge job, but I have no doubt the new Lib Dem team are up to the challenge, and I look forward to working closely with them to unlock all the opportunities devolution has to offer and deliver improvements for residents right across the county.

Away from the elections, I’ve been enjoying my time here in Woking. The eighth annual Surrey Day was on Saturday, a celebration of our wonderful county marked by a wide range of events across our towns and villages – including the Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum event at United Reform Church.

To mark the occasion, I was pleased to join my fellow Surrey MPs and the Speaker of the House recently to raise the county flag in Parliament (pictured).

The last time I spoke in the Commons Chamber, I criticised the appalling planning policy decisions of the former Government that have undermined the green belt. The proposed West Hall development in West Byfleet is a result of this disastrous planning policy that forced the release of green belt land, leading to urban sprawl.

I’ve called this out in the House of Commons to protect our green spaces and ensure that we have a brownfield first approach to development.

I’ll continue to fight to make sure developments are built in suitable areas, with a scope and size appropriate to the existing local community.

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