Only around 732 families in Surrey have been supported to better insulate their homes under the Government’s flagship Green Homes Grant scheme, new figures have revealed. The scheme was meant to help people upgrade their homes to net-zero standards and cut their energy bills through fitting better insulation or heat pumps, but was scrapped earlier […]

The Lib Dems have called for an ambitious package of £48 billion for local authorities to tackle the climate emergency, of which an extra £140 million would be invested directly in the local community here in Surrey. This new funding would go directly to Surrey County Council to fund green infrastructure, and improve the local […]

The York Road Project and I have written to the Government calling for those working with homeless people to be treated as a priority group in the coronavirus vaccination programme. Several years ago when I served as Mayor of Woking, I chose the York Road Project, as my mayoral charity.  The invaluable work they do […]

Woking Borough Council has unanimously agreed a Lib Dem motion to oppose the Government’s planning reforms which will reduce local people’s say on development and centralise control of the planning system. The Lib Dems have warned that the Government’s planning proposals will disempower local authorities like Woking Borough Council and allow developers to run roughshod […]

The Lib Dems and I are calling for greater powers for Surrey County Councl and Woking Borough Council to take action on carbon emissions as figures show progress to cut emissions across the UK has stalled since 2016. In Woking emissions have fallen from 450 kilotons of carbon emissions in 2016 to 401 in 2018. Across […]

I am pleased to say that last night, Woking Council’s Planning Committee overwhelmingly voted to refuse plans to build 1,100 flats and a 9,000 capacity stadium at Woking Football Club’s ground in Kingfield and Westfield. Following speeches against the proposals by a representative of the South Woking Action Group and local councillors, members of the […]

The Lib Dems have announced today that they would allow Woking Council to increase Council Tax by up to 500% on empty homes that are left empty long-term. The latest Government statistics show that there were 346 homes left empty long-term in Woking Borough in 2018. In response, and as part of its plan to […]

The Lib Dems and I have called on Woking Borough Council to fully distribute money earmarked to support vulnerable people in Woking. Central Government gives local authorities funding, called Discretionary Housing Payments, to help vulnerable residents who are struggling to pay their housing related bills.  If this money is not paid out to residents by […]

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’ […]

Tomorrow, I will chair the first in a series of ‘Woking Debates’ – where local people come together to debate key topics. These monthly debates will take place at Christ Church in Woking town centre, on Saturdays between 11 am to 12.30 pm. Tomorrow’s debate is about health and social care – the adequate funding […]