Straw Poll Shows Poor Awareness of Local Government Changes

Published on: 1 May, 2025
Updated on: 3 May, 2025

By Esme Campbell and Martin Giles

To mark what should have been today’s council election, cancelled due to the local government reorganisation plans, The Guildford Dragon NEWS set out to investigate how much Guildford residents know about their local council.

In a small survey of 22 local people, held yesterday, April 30, nearly two-thirds said that they were “unaware” or “not very aware” of local government issues and news. Eight individuals said they were “aware”.

We also interviewed two respondents…

When asked if they were aware that the Surrey County Council election due to be held today had been cancelled, 15 of the 22 responded “no”. Asked if it should have been cancelled seven said “yes”, eight said “no” and seven were unsure.

Less than half, 45 per cent, knew local government was being reorganised, and 41 per cent aware of the proposed plans to merge Guildford and other West Surrey councils.