Letter: A Lib Dem Council Will Not Represent Real Change

Published on: 13 May, 2019
Updated on: 13 May, 2019

From Ben Paton

GGG candidate in Effingham in the recent borough council election

In response to: Council Decision Day Looms as Winning Parties Dicker and Deal

During its long gestation period of some nine years, most of the Lib Dems have supported the Mansbridge/Juneja “trajectory” for the Local Plan.

That involved early decisions to a) come up with the highest possible estimates of demographic housing need b) refuse to constrain the Housing Target for matters such as infrastructure or green belt c) refuse to criticise either Cllr Juneja for her disagreements with the Bar Council regarding her professional qualifications or Mr Mansbridge for his collusion with Cllr Juneja to ask Surrey University students to collect signatures in favour of a referendum for an elected mayor (students were paid per signature obtained) and d) refusal to object to the inclusion of sites such as the former Wisley airfield until it was too late.

At critical junctures, Cllr Reeves took the Conservative Party line. For example, as Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee she refused to vote for scrutiny of the demographic housing need in the Strategic Housing Market Assessment. That “need” was subsequently forced down when, as expected, the ONS revised its figures for Guildford.

Another recent example was when Cllr Reeves agreed with Cllr Spooner that no debate was required on the submission of a Garden Village bid. Cllr Reeves claims that she was not given all of the facts. But she has a long track record of going along with the Conservatives on all the critical issues.

The Lib Dems, or most of them, are the co-sponsors of this Local Plan. If they now go on to run the council then the recent elections will prove as effective in removing the Tory dictatorship as the Arab Springs were in changing the form of government in Egypt and elsewhere in North Africa.

Responses to Letter: A Lib Dem Council Will Not Represent Real Change

George Potter Reply

May 13, 2019 at 11:58 am

I’m quite surprised that The Dragon has chosen to publish this letter without bothering to mention that Mr Paton was an unsuccessful GGG candidate in Effingham in the recent elections.

I have no objections to Mr Paton’s views being published but I don’t think it’s unreasonable for his strong political affiliation to be made clear to readers.

George Potter is a Lib Dem councillor for Burpham.

Editor’s note: Yes, Mr Paton’s political affiliation should have been mentioned. This has now been corrected. Apologies for the oversight.
Anthony Edwards Reply

May 13, 2019 at 3:43 pm

The fact that Ben Paton is a GGG member has little or no bearing on the undeniable facts presented in his letter. And he is, in my opinion, correct in his conclusion that Cllr Reeves has found scant dispute with local Tory policies for a very long time.

Anthony Edwards is a spokesperson for Wisley Action Group
Graham Vickery Reply

May 13, 2019 at 9:52 pm

Such niceties aside. Does Mr Potter have anything to say about the points Mr Paton makes, irrespective of his party affiliations? In other words, is what is said incorrect? If in any portion it is he should say so. I feel sure Dragon readers would welcome that.
Peter Elliott Reply

May 14, 2019 at 10:19 am

Surely what matters is not what Ben Paton’s political affiliations might be, but whether what he says is true or not, which it is. There isn’t much point in the Lib Dems making airy protestations about saving the planet if they’re not prepared to do anything to save that bit of it that they are actually responsible for, from harmful and unnecessary “development”.