The Dragon Says: Marry in Haste, Repent at Leisure

Published on: 30 Mar, 2026
Updated on: 2 Apr, 2026

So, in the face of comprehensive apathy, GBC’s recommendation is to press ahead with the formation of a council for Guildford Town.

But it can only be a recommendation. Already, even before we have elected the new West Surrey Council, the borough council no longer has the authority to proceed without the new council’s say so.

See: GBC Recommends Town Council for Guildford to West Surrey Shadow Authority

That councillors from Spelthorne and Haslemere might have a say on whether we in Guildford can have a town council is a clear example of how our local democracy will no longer be very “local”.

And for those charged with merging the six boroughs and half of the county council into a new unitary authority, within 12 months, the issue of a town council will be a long way down the list of priorities.

One of the most urgent issues should be what is going to happen to the billions of pounds of legacy debt. This issue alone shows the recklessness of proceeding on the current timeline.

Surely the debts should have been cleared before the merger. If those living outside the debt-ridden boroughs and districts end up contributing, residents are likely to be mightily peeved.

But what can we do? Here in Surrey, the local government reorganisation has been forced upon us by a Labour Government that has no “skin in the game”. Not one parliamentary seat is at stake for them. And the Conservatives at SCC not only went along, they volunteered the county to be the guinea pig. Crazy.

And legacy debt is not the only issue.

Surrey is to be divided into two unitary authorities. SHBC

Where is the new council to be located? Guildford or Woking seem to be the favourite candidates but there are likely to be some strong feelings. How will the issue be decided?

A much more challenging issue is the merger of all the IT systems that exist within the seven councils involved. This will be a huge task requiring expensive outside help.

To date, if GBC is an example, even integrating IT systems within the existing councils has not been achieved. The failure to do so was given as one reason for massive and scandalous housing maintenance contract overspend at GBC.

Another sensitive issue is how planning decisions will be made. Imagine this scenario: a controversial planning application in Haslemere is decided by the single vote of a councillor from Spelthorne.

How well can anyone from Spelthorne understand planning issues in Haslemere? What will be the reaction from Haslemere residents? Of course, this could apply the other way round. Most of us in Guildford, for instance, have little clue about Spelthorne.

Then there is the rationalisation of contracts and services. To give one example, Guildford has its own waste and recycling service while other boroughs, such as neighbouring Waverley, contract this out.

No doubt there are pros and cons to both arrangements but residents will be fed up if they feel any change is detrimental. Reliable waste collection is a major measure of council efficiency.

Once those major tasks have been completed, attention can turn to the following list:

• setting councillor allowances
• management of increased councillor workloads
• resettlement of redundant officers
• selection of staff to be transferred and recruited
• policy integration
• improvement of children’s services
• budget setting and management
• identifying and realising expected cost savings
• creating a new council culture
• communicate on all of the above with the public, partners and staff.

A recipe for disaster? Maybe. It is certainly a daunting to-do list.

We should remember that while it was a Labour Government that has imposed this so-called “devolution” upon us, it was a Conservative Surrey County Council that wanted us to be in the vanguard, with shorter deadlines than anyone else. It was a reckless decision.

In reality, achieving a real merger by April 2027 is impossible. It seems certain that existing borough and district operations will have to continue semi-independently for some time.

But if that is the case, why create a false deadline and rush decisions that need proper consideration?

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