Letter: R4GV Has No Mandate

Published on: 5 Jun, 2019
Updated on: 5 Jun, 2019

From Helena Townsend

In response to: Electorate Will Feel Betrayed If We Do Not Deliver Mandated Change

There is no mandate for what R4GV [Residents for Guildford & Villages] have promised voters during their manifesto.

Lib Dems secured the highest number of seats and as a result, it is this party that control the council and not R4GV. As such, there is no mandate that Tim Anderson eludes to.

I voted for Lib Dems – I did not vote for a party that would overturn the recently approved Local Plan (and waste thousands in tax payer’s money at the same time).

All elected councillors should now work together to ensure that as a town we start moving forward to improve both the urban environment and release appropriate green belt where necessary to provide much-needed housing.

Responses to Letter: R4GV Has No Mandate

Peter Elliott Reply

June 6, 2019 at 11:07 am

Helena Townsend is, of course, right. The R4GV party did win slightly fewer seats than the Lib Dems, but if you include the GGG councillors, the number of councillors that oppose the Tory local plan, it exceeds the number of Lib Dems, and is the largest group in the council. On the question of mandates, the Tories certainly had no mandate for their Local Plan, having got themselves elected by promising to protect the green belt, not build thousands of houses all over it.

Editor’s note: R4GV and GGG have not formally formed a group at GBC. The green party councillor, Diana Jones is in a group with R4GV, together they have 16 councillors, compared to the Lib Dems 17.