Lib Dem borough and district councillors had an election to remember earlier this month when residents in those Surrey areas which hold elections in thirds, went to the polls on 5^th May.

Elmbridge

Lib Dems in Elmbridge successfully held onto three seats and gained 4 of the 6 seats lost by the Tories. Many of the wards holding elections were part of Dominic Raab's parliamentary seat which has already been identified as being 'under threat'. These successes are continued evidence that an upset could be on the cards in the next general election.

With one third of all the Runnymede Borough council seats up for election, they were an important indicator of current sentiment.

In broad terms the Conservatives won the popular vote with 37.7%, though this was down from 44.9% in 2021. They won 6 of the 14 seats being contested.

The Liberal Democrats were second when looking at the popular vote, moving from 13.9% in 2021 to 18.4% this year. Standing candidates in 12 of the 14 borough contests. Good progress.

The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservative Government for being soft on crime, as they reveal that 83.8% of burglaries in Surrey went unsolved by the police last year.

Analysis by the Liberal Democrats of new Home Office figures show that 3265 burglary cases were closed by Surrey in 2021, but in 2735 of them no suspect was identified. That equates to 53 unsolved local burglaries every week.

We often get told that politicians are all the same. Runnymede is traditionally a very Conservative area but, having broken the mould in 2019 with 3 elected Liberal Democrat councillors, we are proving that we are not all the same. We have knocked on doors where people say that no one has ever bothered to knock before. We care about what residents want and will always fight their corner. A good reason to vote Liberal Democrat on 5th May.

Surrey County Council has launched a public consultation on increases to on-street parking charges including those for residents' parking permits, with the aim of increasing parking revenue by £334,000 per year across the range of measures.

Notably the cost of parking permits is set to rise over 60% for the first vehicle in a household, increasing from £50 to £80. Additional household permits will go up from £75 to £100 for the second permit and to £130 for subsequent ones.