Woking South East Libdems

08/06/2026

Cllr Peter Graves, Cllr Chris Martin and Cllr Ellen Nicholson were part of a Liberal Democrat Dragon Boat race team on Sunday 7 June.

We had a respectable mid table finish and made our contribution to fundraising for the Woking hospice. If you’d like to add to our fundraising for the hospice, you can do so here
https://www.justgiving.com/page/woking-lib-dem-dragons?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

23/05/2026

The inaugural meeting of the shadow West Surrey Council took place on Thursday 21st May.
Cllr Paul Follows - Godalming South, Milford & Witley was elected as leader of the council and Shaun MacDonald ( Surrey Heath) as deputy leader.

The executive were announced and the initial committees and their members were selected. Committees such as the employment committee are essential to ensure that a chief executive and senior directors are chosen to lead the new council into the future post vesting day on 01/04/2027.

All systems go!

The first meeting of the West Surrey Shadow Council took place yesterday (21 May) following recent elections - a key step towards the new West Surrey Council assuming operational responsibilities in April 2027.

Shadow councillors came together to start preparations for the new council, with Councillor Paul Follows appointed Leader and Councillor Shaun MacDonald as Deputy Leader.

The Shadow Council will work closely with councils across Surrey, partners and local communities to shape how the new West Surrey Council will operate, ensuring it reflects local priorities and continues to deliver high-quality services.

In the meantime, council services continue as normal. Residents should contact their existing county, district or borough council or councillors for enquiries about day to day services. Shadow councillors can answer resident queries on local government reorganisation and the transition to the new authority in April 2027.

Read more ➡️ https://ow.ly/RY8I50Z33Jw

16/05/2026

Derry’s field allotments in Old Woking had an open day today.

Peter and I had the opportunity to have a look around the site and see the vast array of fruit and veggies being grown by the allotment holders, as well as the beehives on site.

We talked about the recent dry and cold spells and how that has affected some of the crops, and of course, it decided to rain whilst we were there.

Cllr Peter Graves - Pyrford Cllr Ellen Nicholson

10/05/2026

West Surrey Council: What Happens Next …

West Surrey as a whole is made up of 90 seats.

Now the results are in we have this as the final makeup of the new council:

🔶 56 Liberal Democrats
🔵 20 Conservatives
➡️ 9 Reform UK
⚪️ 5 Independents

Therefore, the Liberal Democrats in West Surrey will form a new administration.

On May 21st the new council will meet for the first time and will elect a Leader of the Council, and that leader will appoint a new Executive. This meeting will also appoint some interim council senior staff, set up some of the structures of the council including a basic constitution.

That meeting will take place in Guildford (which is hosting the first meeting as it’s the only council chamber big enough).

ℹ️ OVER THE NEXT YEAR

In its ‘Shadow Year’ West Surrey will be fully set up and be made ready to take over control of all services currently provided by Surrey County Council and each of the six boroughs.

❗️This is the key bit - Until 1st April 2027 the current councils remain the providers of all of these services. At which point, they are dissolved and the new West Surrey officially takes over. ❗️

Your current borough councillors remain your councillors and manage any residents concerns and casework until 31st March 2027.

There will also be discussions with the East Surrey about how Surrey County Council assets are split and debt discussions with the government will resume.

🙏 Happy to take any questions on any of the above and once again thank you to the people of Woking South East who have put their trust in me and Peter for this part of West Surrey.

08/05/2026

Thank you so much to everyone in Woking South East who voted for Cllr Ellen Nicholson and Cllr Peter Graves - Pyrford

We are both honoured and very grateful for your support, and look forward to representing you on the new Council.