Letter: I Intend to Stand and Have No Conflicts of Interest

Published on: 20 Jan, 2019
Updated on: 19 Jan, 2019

John Rigg

From John Rigg

chairman of GVG and provisional borough council candidate

In response to: Are There Conflicts of Interests in GVG Chairman’s Position as a Candidate?

l confirm I announced my intention to stand as an independent candidate for the Holy Trinity Ward, in which I live.

In common with most, if not all members of the Guildford Vision Group, my family home is my only property interest in the Borough. I can confirm that I have no personal nor professional conflicts of interest in relation to the Guildford Vision Group’s Master Plan, which was prepared by GVG at no cost to the council and represents a broad co-ordinated vision for the future.

One way of bringing forward the regeneration of Guildford may have been through an urban area Neighbourhood Plan, and, to this end, some time ago, Guildford Neighbourhood Forum Limited was established. It is a non-trading limited company whose sole asset is the shares of Vision for Guildford Limited.

Having a passion for making Guildford a better place (and having spent the last seven years campaigning for it) should not in any way rule me out from standing as a candidate for the council, nor from being an effective councillor on behalf of my ward. The reverse may be true.

Were my passion to be a barrier to public office, most MPs and many councillors across the country would have to stand down from office – including many Conservatives in the government.

Guildford needs change. Mr Whitby-Collins’s party has had ample time in power, largely unchallenged, and has shown by its failures and its deeds that it is not the one to deliver the change we need.