Spelthorne Liberal Democrats

Following the closing of the consultation on the Local Plan, to which the Lib Dem Group submitted a group response, Group Leader Councillor Sandra Dunn has sent an open letter to the Leader of Spelthorne Borough Council and the Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning & the Local Plan.

The letter can be found below and this article will be updated with any response recieved. A transcript of the letter can be found below the letter. The Liberal Democrats on Spelthorne Borough Council remain committed that the voice of residents should be heard throughout the development of the Local Plan.

The consultation on the new Spelthorne Local Plan closed at midnight on the 21st January. Amonst the huge number of comments from individuals and local residents groups has been one from Spelthorne Liberal Democrats and a link to our submission is below.

Spelthorne Liberal Democrat submitted comments

Voting reform is not about the electoral advantage of any party.

It is about better democracy.

As politicians we have a responsibility to ensure voters across the UK do not feel disenfranchised.

In this election the Liberal Democrats increased their vote share by 4%, more than any other party, but achieved fewer seats in Parliament.

Surrey County Council has agreed to the purchase of Midas House in Woking as the new County Council offices.

The County Council has been looking to move out of its current home in Kingston for some time and has chosen the office building as the location for its new Civic Heart.

The current headquarters, County Hall, is expensive to run, not fit for purpose and not in Surrey. Midas House is a much smaller building and only councillors, the senior leadership team and some support staff will be based there; others will be relocated to offices in Leatherhead, Guildford and Reigate.

The general election result has highlighted the unfairness of the electoral system and the time has come for the introduction of some form of proportional representation.

The 3.65m Liberal Democrat voters only elected 11 MPs - this equates to 331,000 votes per MP. To elect a Conservative took just 38,000 votes. How can this be described as a functioning democracy? It is even worse if you voted for the Green Party when 857,000 votes only elected a single MP.

There is still time to comment on the Local Plan, details of which were included in an 8-page supplement in the latest Borough Bulletin. If you haven't already done so, take a look.

The Plan includes a number of aspects which will affect everyone who lives in Spelthorne.

If you have any views on the contents of the plan you have until 21st January to submit your comments. Some of the key issues in the plan are:

The entire Conservative election campaign was based on a lie.

The idea that Johnson will get Brexit done by Christmas is completely untrue. He's has taken the electorate for fools.

Even if Johnson wins a majority, and even if he passes the withdrawal agreement before Christmas, then Brexit won't be done.

The EU has never negotiated, signed and ratified a trade deal with a country in 11 months.

Canada took seven years to strike its agreement with the EU. Given the scale of the problems that have to be negotiated, for example checks on the border, it's highly unlikely this will happen.

Even the EU have distanced themselves from the idea it could be done in 11 months.

"Johnson's Brexit lies have caused huge damage to our public services already."

Boris's lie on the side of a bus was an even bigger whopper than we thought. Not only does Brexit not mean an extra £350 million a week for the NHS...

In reality, it means £350 million a week less.

And that's before we've even left.

"I think most of the work has already been done. We already start from a position where the EU and the UK is aligned, we're agreed on all the key principles." - Sajid Javid

Here, Sajid Javid is continuing the narrative that getting a free trade agreement with the EU will be the easiest thing in the world. It won't be.