Dragon Interview: Sir Paul Beresford, MP for Mole Valley

Published on: 4 Oct, 2019
Updated on: 10 Oct, 2019

Sir Paul Beresford MP, speaking in the House of Commons.

We hear, fairly regularly, from Guildford’s MP Anne Milton but what of the others whose constituencies overlap the Borough of Guildford?

Five of Guildford Borough’s 22 council wards lie within the Parliamentary constituency of Mole Valley, centred on Dorking but extending towards Guildford as far as West Clandon. The constituency is represented by Sir Paul Beresford, a New Zealander by birth and a dentist by profession.

The constituency/council boundary overlaps can cause complications. Candidate selection is the responsibility of party associations which follow parliamentary constituency borders and the different MPs, albeit from the same (until recently) political party, can have differing views on our borough council’s policies.

A case in point is Guildford’s Local Plan. Sir Paul has been outspoken in his objections, especially over the inclusion of Wisley Airfield as a strategic housing site.

In this wide-ranging interview with Martin Giles Sir Paul also talks about his reason for raising the situation in Libya, during a Parliamentary debate last week, Brexit (of course!) and generally of his role and experiences as an MP and a minister including work with the police to tackle paedophile crime.

Video recorded and edited by Mark Insoll.

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