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Woking’s Former Mayor Joins Those Jockeying for Position as General Election Looms
Published on: 13 Oct, 2019
Updated on: 13 Oct, 2019
Will Forster
By Rebecca Curley local democracy reporter and Martin Giles
A no-deal Brexit will be disastrous for Woking, according to the former mayor who has been selected to stand as the Lib Dem’s Parliamentary candidate.
Cllr Will Forster represents Hoe Valley on Woking Borough Council and Woking South for Surrey County Council. Last year he was made Mayor of Woking at the age of 31, Woking’s youngest ever.
Mr Forster, who lives near Woking Park with his partner Hannah and his sausage dog Toffee, is a former Horsell CofE Middle School and Woking High School student.
He said: “The plans for Brexit, especially a no-deal Brexit, will be disastrous for Woking and for the country – and I intend to do my utmost to stop them.
“I know so many people, including lifelong Conservatives, who are unhappy with Woking’s current MP for backing a Hard Brexit agenda, despite the majority of Woking voting to Remain.
“Local people rightly feel they are not being properly represented on the key issue of our time. As Woking’s MP, I would always back residents and represent their views.
“With the Lib Dems topping the poll in Woking in the most recent election, the next General Election looks likely to be a hard-fought contest. If you can help my campaign, please let me know.”
Woking’s current MP is Jonathan Lord, a Conservative who was elected in 2010 with a majority of 6,807. He won again in 2017 with an increased majority of 16,724 taking 29,903 votes. Lib Dems trailed in third that year behind Labour.
Cllr Forster announced he would be standing as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) on October 5.
The announcement follows Guildford’s MP, Anne Milton, having the Conservative whip withdrawn when she voted against the government to prevent a no-deal EU withdrawal. Speculation continues as to whether, having ruled out joining the Lib Dems, she will stand as an Independent. If she does it is likely she will retain the support of many Conservative Remain supporters.
Anne Milton
Some Guildford Conservative members still hope that the whip will be returned to Ms Milton before a general election but it is known that alternative Conservative candidates have been making soundings to see what support they might have within the Guildford Conservative Association, responsible for candidate selection.
A large number, if not the majority, of its several hundred members are understood to have strong Leave convictions and might be against Anne Milton’s nomination, even if that were possible. In any case, Guildford is unlikely to remain the safe Tory seat it has become recently.
Sir Paul Beresford
In neighbouring Mole Valley some have expressed disquiet with Sir Paul Beresford’s support of the government’s position. Sir Paul voted to Remain in the EU referendum, as did most voters in his constituency, but he said in a recent interview with The Guildford Dragon that he believes he now has to follow the instruction given by the majority in the country in the 2016 referendum to leave the EU.
In South West Surrey Lib Dem borough councillor Paul Follows has announced he will stand at the next general election for the seat currently held by Conservative Jeremy Hun who contested the Conservative Party leadership against Boris Johnson.
Paul Follows
Cllr Follows represents Godalming Central and Ockford and is deputy leader of Waverley Borough Council and leader of Godalming Town Council.
In a county council by-election in May 2019 for Haslemere the Lib Dems and other opposition parties endorsed Independent candidate Nikki Barton, who took the seat from the Tories.
Cllr Follows said he was “having ongoing discussions” with other “allies” about similar support.
He said: “The local elections really crystallised the partnership and co-operation of many of the non-Conservative opposition groups in the constituency.”
Micheal Gove
In Guildford’s other neighbouring constituency, Surrey Heath, the incumbent, Michael Gove, a Conservative cabinet minister and a Leave supporter, is in line with the majority of voters there, according to the 2016 EU vote.
The next UK general election is scheduled for May 5, 2022 but parties are preparing for an early election which many political observers feel is likely to be held before Christmas.
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Responses to Woking’s Former Mayor Joins Those Jockeying for Position as General Election Looms
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John Armstrong
October 14, 2019 at 5:22 pm
So we have another Liberal Democrat vying for power. What is it I wonder to be a Lib Dem? How do you stand for election in the full knowledge that your party leader has pledged to cancel not only the 2016 referendum result but any future result for Leave? This comes after promising at election after election to actually hold an In-Out EU referendum?
It is not just that they want to stop a no-deal Brexit it is that they want to stop any Brexit. One can only conclude that hypocrisy is a Lib Dem policy. I will read the next Lib Dem leaflet that comes through my door with great care; maybe it’ll be in the small print.
Lib Dems are also in full knowledge of the fledgeling EU Army, the EU-wide tax, pension, and the expanding EU “Empire” (there are seven countries waiting to join). Let us hope to see it in their manifesto, after all, it was a feature of their recent conference. Maybe Lib Dem voters will know what they’re really voting for?
I would like to see this no-deal disaster qualified. Why will it be a disaster? Let us see some figures. Which firms will close, what jobs will be lost? Could it be that these are just predictions of could and maybe?
Perhaps MPs of all parties and those aspiring to sidestep our democracy should look in this mirror.
David Roberts
October 15, 2019 at 2:24 pm
Whether you agree with it or not, I don’t see what’s wrong with a party standing on a manifesto that says clearly that Brexit is a lousy idea and will be cancelled. No-one is obliged to vote for this if they don’t want to.
Nor do I see what’s so alarming about EU ambitions. A proper EU army is still decades away, and greater European burden-sharing within NATO has been promoted even by the US since at least the 1960s.
There is not the remotest chance of an EU tax, since the treaties contain no fiscal powers, although greater harmonisation might make sense within the Eurozone to offset the downsides of the single monetary policy. As for EU expansion, “widening” the membership has historically always been at the expense of “deepening” EU integration.
Turkey joining the EU is just a scare story – impossible for two or three more generations. Other applicants should surely be welcomed: tiny Montenegro, for instance, which already uses the Euro. What’s so awful about that?
John Perkins
October 18, 2019 at 10:06 am
There is of course nothing wrong with a party standing on a manifesto of cancelling Brexit. However, when that same party demanded a referendum for many years and promised to respect it, voters might find it difficult to take them at their word.
Nobody has ever formed an army without the intention of using it. Almost every country in the world has a ‘defence’ capability and many have used it to attack their neighbours. Turkey is a perfect example.
Claiming there is no intention to do something or that it cannot happen any time soon is exactly the tactic that was employed 30-40 years ago by the EEC and EC when denying there would ever be an EU. Afterwards, we were told, “It was always going to be”. The current treaties might not contain fiscal powers, but future ones will undoubtedly do so and will oblige the UK to participate if it is still a member.