Letter: Party Politics Have No Place at Local Level

Published on: 7 Feb, 2026
Updated on: 7 Feb, 2026

From John Redpath

former R4GV borough councillor

In response to: Great Local Plan Meeting – But Where Were My Fellow Councillors?

I knew Maddy (my daughter) was upset about the poor turn-out at such an important meeting but did not know until this morning that she was writing to The Dragon NEWS.

An excellent letter that lays bare the problem with the influence of party politics, especially locally.

Too many residents vote along national party political lines rather than for the person who will represent them. At the moment the favourite are the Lib Dems (yellow shirts).

The result of such voting is that the electorate ends up with a large number of “paper candidates”, councillors who were elected simply to make up the numbers and give a majority to one or other political party. They have no real interest in what happens in our borough, rarely attend committee meetings and do little to help or represent their residents.

If ever we are fortunate enough to have a parish or “town” council then it is incredibly important that politics is not allowed to gain a foothold. The people elected to the council should have a proven record of commitment to the borough and to their local neighbourhood. Guildford will be a much better place for it!

Responses to Letter: Party Politics Have No Place at Local Level

Angela Richardson Reply

February 7, 2026 at 9:02 pm

I agree. I’m on record in favour of a town/parish council for Guildford and had the pleasure of not only serving as a parish councillor in Cranleigh, but achieving the de-politicising of it so that we all (apart from one party who didn’t appear to get the memo) stood without a banner next to our names back in 2019.

Parish councillors are on the coal face, closest to their community. They understand it and can help to make it a great place to live without being distracted by national politics.

It is important that we do slug out our ideas at other levels of government in the national interest, but Guildford will do well in the hands of those who only have the Town’s best interest in the forefront of their minds and actions.

Angela Richardson is the former Conservative MP for Guildford