Opinion: Local Government Needs Independent Thinkers – With No Party Line

Published on: 21 Sep, 2018
Updated on: 21 Nov, 2018

This is the second in a series of opinion pieces from all the political parties and the Independent councillors who currently form Guildford Borough Council (GBC) in the period between now and next May (2019) when the borough elections will take place.

We are grateful to all the participants for agreeing to take part. Our aim is to allow our readers to hear from local politicians directly and become better informed of the political choice they have before they cast their votes…

By Tony Rooth

Independent borough councillor for Pilgrim’s ward, also representing Bob McShee Independent councillor for Worplesdon

We believe your local council should concentrate on local issues and local communities, not national politics. Your borough councillors should focus on Guildford, not Westminster.

Who you choose as your local councillor is between yourself and the ballot box but your local councillor(s) need(s) real time and commitment to fully represent the people who elected them. No political party or group has a monopoly of good councillors and good (or bad) ideas for the borough council’s priorities, policies and procedures.

Whether you vote Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour or anything else at General Elections, do you vote the same way in our local elections?

Guildford Borough is covered in part by four Conservative MPs but should the borough council really be run on the same party political grounds?

If that happens, you can get a council with power and influence concentrated in the hands of a political leadership – almost a one-party state.

The present council leadership controls most major council policies and services – Cllr Spooner – partnerships, planning and regeneration (including the Local Plan) and Cllr Furniss – infrastructure (which includes major projects and all operational services like refuse and recycling ) and governance.

The other eight Executive members have generally smaller roles including a “special adviser to the leader and lead councillor for social enterprise and voluntary sector”.

The remaining 38 councillors are given little power and influence except those who are members of the Planning Committee.

Do our residents feel they have any real inclusion (let alone influence) on decision making or is public consultation largely seen as something that the council just has to do, rather than wants to do properly?

We both have decided to resign from the Conservative group and party (although we have been Conservatives all our lives) because of our concerns about “party politics” on your council, the power of the leadership, the way the council is run, consultation with our residents and major projects which have wasted large amounts of taxpayers’ money. “The Village” has cost £1 million of your money spent on a now empty, boarded up site opposite the bus station which is there for all to see.

We have both become Independent councillors and we have now formed a separate Independent group on the council. We both want change to:

• provide an Independent approach to your council instead of party politics;
• give councillors more involvement, influence and control over the power of the Leadership and Executive;
• give our residents and your councillors more involvement with each other;
• increase and improve council consultation with our residents;
• independently and thoroughly investigate and challenge council policies and projects.

Both of us are Independent thinkers and may not agree on everything. We have no party line to toe, no party whip to crack. We are free to represent our residents’ points of view and vote appropriately. A free vote is the purest form of representative democracy.

We are Independent and free from party politics, certainly on your borough council. We have our own Independent principles and ideas but certainly no monopoly. Therefore, we would like to hear any new ideas you may have about the council’s present and future priorities, policies, projects and procedures.

See also: Who On Earth Wants To Be In Politics? Do You?

In two week’s time, it will be the turn of the Guildford Labour party.

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