06/08/2026
My Update from Last Night’s West Surrey Shadow Authority Meeting
The meeting made one thing clear: we still have a long way to go when it comes to council culture, openness, transparency, and listening to residents.
While there were a few positive moments for our local environment, I came away deeply concerned by the overall tone in the chamber, a lack of willingness by the administration to consult residents, and decisions that move us away from true openness and transparency.
Here is a breakdown of key updates and where I stood on the issues:
🌿 Positive Steps for Local Countryside & Infrastructure. On a constructive note, I was pleased to hear support voiced for key local environmental initiatives, specifically Cllr Lance Spencer (Lib Dem) speaking up for the Basingstoke Canal, and Cllr Catherine Powell (Independent) advocating for the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership. I was very glad to see the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Place, and Economy agree to meet with both organisations to discuss their vital work.
🗣️ The "West Surrey & South Middlesex" Name Change & Denying Residents a Say: One of the major debates of the night was Motion 1, proposing to rename the new council "West Surrey & South Middlesex."
The Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Jane Austin (Con), proposed a sensible amendment, seconded by Cllr Catherine Powell (Independent) asking that we put this out to public consultation so West Surrey residents could have their say on the council's name. Disappointingly, the Lib Dem group voted down the amendment as a block, refusing to consult residents on the name change. Their arguments for doing so were weak, but with such a massive majority, they can more or less do what they want including pushing through decisions without understanding what the wider West Surrey Community think about it.
I voted FOR consulting residents, and subsequently voted AGAINST the substantive motion to change the name without public backing outside of Spelthorne. I thought it was interesting that the proposer of the motion indicated that the name change was supported by 107,000 residents in Spelthorne, yet two councillors from that Borough, who had a free vote actually voted against the name change which indicates to me that the support for the name change, even in Spelthorne is highly exaggerated. In the absence of a consultation we will never really know.
Whatever way we chose to look at it, the motion was won fair, square and legally. The Leader of the Council, Cllr Paul Follows (Lib Dem) will now write to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to formally request the name change. Judging by the feedback on my own page about this and the feedback that other councillors have received on their own pages, I am hopeful that the Minister, Angela Rayner MP will force a public consultation on this, so all West Surrey residents can have their say, which is all the supporters of the amendment were asking for. Surely this is not so unreasonable.
⏰ Meeting Times & Schedule: The Chairman of the Standards Committee confirmed that 7pm evening start times currently apply for the Shadow Authority full council meetings, with a full review coming in September. While finding a meeting time that works for everyone is near impossible, my personal preference remains 2pm daytime meetings to allow proper focus and accessibility. I voted in favour of the amendment for 2pm meetings put forward by the Leader of the opposition on meeting times, and I hope September’s review seriously considers the benefits of daytime meetings. Aside from my own personal preference, I do not think late and long meetings are conducive to good decision making. I got home at 2245 last night, but I know some colleagues did not get home until 2330. There was some debate about how the chair of the Standards committee ignored or adjusted the recommendation of the committee. I was not at that meeting and have not watched the webcast of it so I can't comment on that.
📺 Webcast Restrictions & Transparency: At the start of the meeting, the Chair reminded us of the meeting webcast but noted that video clips from the webcast cannot be shared on social media. I strongly disagree with this stance. Restricting how residents view and share public council proceedings hurts openness and transparency, and feels like a drive to control the narrative. Surrey County Council and Surrey Heath Borough Council do not impose such stringent controls over meeting recordings. Indeed Parliament actively makes this very easy for people to share webcast footage from both the House of Lords and the House of Commons and actively encourages it. Going forward this is something I intend to appeal to colleagues that being open about our meeting contents is vital for openness and transparency but more importantly encourages public awareness and engagement in the local political process. That will aid better decision making,
🏛️ Council Culture & Tone: I had hoped a new council would give us a fresh start, a chance to lead by example with constructive, respectful debate. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was aggressive, combative, and dominated by petty point-scoring. This type of hostility makes cross-party collaboration incredibly difficult as we have seen at Surrey Heath Borough Council. I am not hopeful that this will improve, even over time and I am at a loss as to how to address this to be honest. It is very frustrating and does not aid decent, meaningful and constructive debate as I can see it putting some members off contributing to the debate and even worse would put off people considering standing for election. Frankly the behaviour of some councillors last night was embarrassing.
As one backbench colleague noted afterward: "I came away frustrated at how the business was handled and at the adversarial nature of the discussions. If young people were looking at that meeting, they would not want to get involved." Another described it simply as "debating against a zoo at feeding time."
Residents deserve better than petty politics. I will continue to push for transparency, resident consultation, and a more constructive working culture as we build this new authority.
Basingstoke Canal
The Basingstoke Canal Society
Blackwater Valley Nature Walks
