The Lib Dems have announced that we will spend £10 billion a year more on schools and hire 20,000 more teachers by the end of the next Parliament. Figures from the National Education Union show that next year (2020/21), schools in Woking will have seen their budgets cut by well over £2 million – £2,381,781 […]

The Lib Dems will introduce free childcare from 9 months, transforming the lives of parents and children across the UK. The high cost of childcare means that too many parents are unable to return to work without risking real financial hardship.  With the average cost of 25 hours nursery care for a child under two running […]

At the end of their term, each Mayor of Woking hosts a Civic Reception, and I recently held my Civic Reception at the HG Wells Centre where I was delighted to pay tribute to Woking’s volunteers. When I was elected as Mayor last year, I knew I would be busy – but little did I […]

Surrey County Council will be resurfacing much of Queen Elizabeth Way in Kingfield on Monday 13th May. The Council is resurfacing the eastern part of the road, namely the outside Number 42 to 84 and including the cul-de-sac section. The resurfacing work should only take 1 day, with work taking place from 7.30 am until 5 […]

The Lib Dems and I have condemned the Conservative Government for slashing Surrey County Council budget for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by £4,403.72 per pupil in real terms since 2015, resulting in a loss of specialist provision. The National Education Union, which published these statistics on 15th April, has warned that local authorities […]

The Lib Dems have today called on Conservative Ministers to invest in local services to tackle childhood obesity following fresh official figures reveal 16% of children aged 10 to 11 across Woking are obese. According to the figures published by Public Health England, 20% children aged 10 – 11 across England are obese. The publication […]

Yesterday, the Lib Dems and I saw success when our motion aimed at cutting the costs spent on interim staff at Surrey County Council was adopted. The motion was produced in reaction to recent news that the Council was recruiting for another interim manager on a £90,000 annual salary. The motion approved by Council read: […]

The Lib Dems and I have slammed the Conservative Government for their “hapless treatment” of European Union (EU) citizens after the Home Office released guidance on the new EU Settlement Scheme. The Home Office has confirmed that for the duration of the trial period, EU nationals applying to stay in the UK must either use […]

Surrey County Council has agreed to my request to help its European Union (EU) staff and children in care apply for ‘settled status’ post-Brexit. Earlier this year, the Government announced that EU nationals would have to apply and pay for settled status post-Brexit, though they have recently waived the application fees.  This ‘pay to stay’ […]

At Surrey County Council’s last Cabinet meeting, senior Conservative Councillors approved plans to shut 31 of Surrey’s 58 children centres. Several other Lib Dem County Councillors and I spoke out at the meeting against the closures, believing the proposals were not in the best interests of the residents of Surrey and the current users of […]