Letter: Council Decisions Are Inherently Political

Published on: 20 Feb, 2026
Updated on: 20 Feb, 2026

From George Potter

Lib Dem borough councillor for Burpham

I think it’s a shame that Mr Bennett seems to have such a flawed understanding of how town councils work.

Unlike a borough, county or unitary council, there is no “council leader”, “Executive” or “Cabinet” on a parish or town council. There is simply a chair of the council (who may be given the dignity of mayor), and then there are various committees.

One only needs to go as far as Godalming or Ash to see how such councils work equally well regardless of whether the councillors stand under a party banner or not.

But the virtue of political parties remains the same, in any case. Firstly, they ensure competition for the elections, rather than the same people being automatically elected unopposed, without a single ballot being cast, as happens in many rural parishes.

And secondly, they give people a clear choice as to what they are voting for, by letting them know what values the different candidates represent and where they stand on local issues.

For example, residents will know that if they vote Lib Dem then they will get a councillor who cares (amongst other things) about local action climate change, and that if they vote Tory then they will get an anti-net zero zealot.

Or, if they vote for the R4GV party then they know, from that party’s track record, they will get a councillor who will vote against action on climate change and betray their election promises on development in the town centre.

Whether you like what’s on offer or not, at least a party label makes it clearer than voting for one of multiple “independent” candidates who give no indication as to which way they’ll jump on any given issue.

Decision-making, even at the most local level, is inherently political, involving choosing which concerns and values to prioritise, and anyone who claims that it is possible to make such decisions entirely apolitical is peddling a bill of goods.

As for the number of councillors proposed for Guildford parish, I personally don’t think that 24 volunteer, unpaid councillors is an excessive number for a town of nearly 90,000 people, but the entire point of the consultation is to allow residents to respond to the proposals.

So there is nothing stopping Mr Bennett from responding to suggest an alternative number of councillors, if he so wishes.

Responses to Letter: Council Decisions Are Inherently Political

Pete Bennett Reply

February 20, 2026 at 4:21 pm

I think Cllr Potter has illustrated my point exactly.

To be clear, I personally believe that Climate Change is the most significant issue the world currently faces. At the same time, it is not the town council that will be investing in green technology, insulating homes, or drilling for oil.

I would imagine that the (R4GV initiated) Guildford No Car Day (or “Green Day” or whatever George renamed it to) would be part of the Town Council’s programme, but that will be almost the extent of the Green responsibilities – just doing what they can to keep the issue at the forefront of peoples minds.

The fact that Cllr Potter has chosen this issue to illustrate “why you should vote Lib Dem” is exactly why I don’t want a 24 strong council of people campaigning on empty promises on national issues. I would much rather have 12 people who really care about the town and are elected because of what they have already done.

Instead of turning it into another political show, we should be encouraging representation from apolitical organisations such as the Guildford Society, the Residents Associations, those from the Chamber of Commerce and a host of other organisations that have no stake in what goes on at Westminster.

There will be enough politics in the Unitary Authority. Leave the town council to people who care about Guildford.

I am not saying that local politicians do not care about Guildford. There are some excellent politicians across all the parties who do really care. I would be more than happy for them to stand for election – but leave the rosettes behind. Leave the party machinery behind. Leave the political point scoring behind.

The town council, if created, could be an example of how people can work together for the common good.

Pete Bennett is the chair of Residents for Guildford & Villages
John Redpath Reply

February 20, 2026 at 4:48 pm

I think George Potter has very swiftly managed to prove why we must keep petty politicians OUT of Town Councils. What a lot of energy spent on doing an opposition party down rather than concentrating on doing something constructive for Guildford and its residents.

If he had done his homework, he would know that R4GV stood for development in sustainable locations and against inappropriate development of our greenbelt which would result in the need to commute, which would mean more congested roads and production of additional green house emissions from the multiple car and bus journeys created.

And as far as track records go, I remember that Cllr Potter campaigned for a 2019 Lib Dem manifesto, which promised 3,000 new council homes. I believe the Lib Dems have not built a twentieth of these in their last seven years in power.

Oh dear, now I’ve just got political!

John Redpath is a former R4GV borough councillor