Letter: What Do Parish Councils Do?

Published on: 24 Jul, 2025
Updated on: 26 Jul, 2025

From Brian Creese

former chair of Guildford Labour

In response to: GBC Set to Approve a Public Consultation on Forming a Town Council

The sudden enthusiasm for parish councils shown by both the Conservatives and Lib Dems in recent days has taken me a bit by surprise.

Since moving to Guildford we have lived in two areas, firstly in Stoke, a borough ward with no parish council then in Jacobs Well, which is part of Worplesdon Parish.

What does Worplesdon Parish Council do? A good question.

It has some staff and an office and seems to spend most of its time cutting verges and hedges. However there were verges and hedges in Stoke ward, cut by the borough council. But in Worplesdon we pay a mysterious extra rate, or precept, for no obvious services.

There is much talk of a “democratic deficit”, and yet there are rarely elections for parish councils in Guildford Borough as there are invariably more vacancies than candidates. Party labels are not used – apart for Ash I believe – and I couldn’t tell you the names of our parish councillors or what they believe in.

I do know that even compared to GBC, parish councillors tend to be elderly, white and male. So for me, living in a parish, provides no extra services but does have an extra cost, there are never actual elections and we never hear from our parish councillors.

The real reason this outmoded structure is suddenly in vogue is because local politicians are about to see their inefficient power bases swept away by the new councils. The whole point of Local Government Reorganisation is to simplify the layers of governance so everyone knows who does what.

You can go to your local councillor and they will be responsible for all aspects of local government – no more division between borough and county – or parish. I am really looking forward to getting a more modern form local government in place which will actually deliver more efficiency and accountability.

We have no need of yet more powerless talking shops!

Responses to Letter: What Do Parish Councils Do?

Jim Allen Reply

July 24, 2025 at 4:00 pm

It is unfortunate that the local parish commentary seems to suggest that being “old, white, and male” and caring for the community is an offensive position to hold.

Considering that 40 per cent of the population is white and male, including Mr Creese himself, who appears to care for the community, this seems to be a rather peculiar viewpoint to adopt.
David Roberts Reply

July 24, 2025 at 7:15 pm

An impertinent piece by an “elderly, white and male” politician belittling the only real, in-touch and responsive local government we’ve got: our excellent, public-spirited parish councils. West Horsley is a fine example, defending local interests at every turn, only to be routinely treated with contempt by unelected council officers and the councillors who slavishly suck up their every decision.

Unfortunately, parishes have negligible powers and resources. For that, blame the main national parties, most recently Mr Creese’s party of government, which has plotted with the Conservatives to deny us local elections and foist on us a dramatically more centralised structure of Surrey councils. This is tantamount to direct rule by Whitehall, whose commissioners already control some bankrupt councils anyway.

If Mr Creese ran football, he’d scrap the leagues and all amateur clubs in a futile attempt to boost the Premiership. Can’t he see that parish councils are potential dynamos of real grassroots democracy, and indeed its only hope of survival? Why are politicians so scared of this?
Joanna Keane Reply

July 24, 2025 at 9:44 pm

May I suggest that Brian Creese takes off his Labour Party hat and volunteers for his local parish council. He will find members who support different parties and none but do not use their affiliation, instead working for the good of their community. He should not expect to get paid for his work unlike councillors at GBC and SCC.

I suggest instead of sitting on his laurels (I was going to be a little more impolite) he accesses the website and facebook of his Parish Council, He may learn something to his advantage, so why not attend Parish Council meetings? They are public after all.

In West Surrey the town councils and Ash Parish Council are in the minority in being party political.

In the civil parish where I live, which was established 130 years ago, the council, which covers three villages, provides children’s playground equipment in four areas, a football pitch, manages two sets of allotments, a cemetery, local street lighting, organises litter picks, comments on planning applications. It also maintains the war memorial and the closed burial ground of the parish church, supports the Smith’s Charity in local distribution and adds another voice in support of local residents.

All their activity is open to all via their public meetings, website and Facebook.
Nicholas Clemens Reply

July 25, 2025 at 9:57 am

Has the author of this letter ever engaged with Worplesdon PC or attended any of their meetings or indeed read the minutes of those meetings.

If he had he would realise the parish council does far more than just cut verges.
Gaynor White Reply

July 25, 2025 at 11:31 am

We warmly welcome Mr Creese and all other members of the public to attend any of our regular meetings to see how the parish council operates.

The dates of all meetings, agendas, minutes and general information about what the parish council does are available on our website http://www.worplesdon-pc.gov.uk.
Brian Creese Reply

July 25, 2025 at 4:35 pm

I would just like to reassure Jim Allen that I don’t have any problem with elderly white males wanting to get involved in local politics – as you correctly note, I am one!

The problem is when one particular demographic dominates over others – so I would have exactly the same criticism if parish councils were made up entirely of 20-year-olds. I think that in a representative democracy, there needs to be some correlation between the people being represented and their representatives. I think this is particularly the case when there are rarely any actual elections held.

However, I am still awaiting a response to my main question; what do I get for my extra precept for living in Worplesdon that I didn’t get when living in Stoke Ward? If you want to set up a new “parish-style” town council, then this question needs to be addressed.

Brian Creese is a former chair of Guildford Labour
- Jim Allen Reply
  
  July 26, 2025 at 12:18 pm
  
  You know when you ae hitting the point when “mentioned in dispatches”.
Harry Eve Reply

July 25, 2025 at 6:59 pm

I would have expected some appreciation of the voluntary efforts and time commitments of parish councillors from Mr Creese. I would not want to be without East Horsley Parish Council.

I will take this opportunity to criticise the party that Mr Creese represents for the severe damage they plan to inflict on our wildlife and countryside through their Planning Bill proposals.
Fiona White Reply

July 26, 2025 at 12:37 pm

The letter from Brian Creese seems to be based on a limited understanding of parish councils. I am surprised because I know that Worplesdon Parish Council is very active.

I would like to invite him to find out more about Ash Parish Council which really doesn’t match his description. I will happily admit to being elderly and white but I assure him that I am not male. In fact, four out of our 12 parish councillors are female. We have a wide range of ages and interests. Only three councillors stood under a political label. Politics doesn’t come into our decisions. We give our time because we care about our local community.

Unitary authorities, whether there are two or three of them, will be dealing with some big and very important issues such as adults and children’s services and highways as well as rubbish collection, housing and planning. I wonder whether their councillors will have the time to concentrate on play equipment, running allotments or the upkeep of the local cemetery. On top of the unitary authorities will be a directly elected mayor so the reorganisation will be changing the layers of local government, not removing one.

Our parish council officers and councillors are always readily contactable, we meet monthly and are easy to find. We have an open question time for residents. In fact, we are open, transparent, democratic and accessible as well as being good value for money.

Fiona White is the chair of Ash Parish Council