Chance for New Council Candidates To Be Heard First-hand

Published on: 7 Apr, 2026
Updated on: 11 Apr, 2026

By Martin Giles

Guildford South West residents are being invited to a hustings in their Village Hall where they will be able to hear first-hand from candidates standing in the election for the new West Surrey Council.

The meeting is being organised by Onslow Village Residents Association (OVRA).

Ray Briggs, an OVRA committee member who will be chairing the meeting, said: “We are keen to ensure that local residents are properly informed of the coming changes to local government in Surrey and the coming May election that will put in place councillors for the new West Surrey authority.

“The Guildford South West ward is larger than Onslow Village therefore OVRA has reached out to residents associations that we are aware of which cover other parts of the ward. Anyone living within the boundaries of the Guildford SW division is welcome to attend.”

All candidates for the main parties (Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, the Greens and Reform) known to be standing in the upcoming May elections in Guildford SW have been invited to join the panel of candidates and all of those parties will be sending at least one of those candidates.

Independent candidates will also be welcomed, if standing: the official list has yet to be declared.

Explaining how the meeting will be conducted Ray Briggs said: “The candidates will be seated at the front of the hall in a panel rather akin to BBC’s Question Time. The meeting will start with a few words from the chair. Thereafter each Party’s candidates will be given five minutes to introduce themselves and make opening statements.

“We will then open the floor to questions. We may have written questions from residents who cannot attend or who otherwise want to ask a question but feel reticent to do so publicly. These questions will be interspersed with questions from the floor as the evening goes on.

“We want as many members of the audience to have the opportunity to ask questions as possible in the limited time available. It’s important that the meeting focuses on local issues rather than dealing with broader national issues as this is a local election, and that questions and answers are as brief and succinct as possible.

“We trust that the dialogue will be kept polite and respectful and it will be my responsibility as chair to help maintain this. OVRA are looking forward to welcoming the candidates and community members for what will be an informative evening of discussion and debate.”

The hustings meeting will be held on April 28 at 7.30pm at Onslow Village Hall, Wilderness Road Guildford GU2 7QR.

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