Nearly half of Conservative county councillors will not stand for re-election

Almost half of Conservative councillors won't stand in next month's county council election.

The Tories won 49 per cent of the votes in Surrey and a whopping three-quarters of seats in the last election in 2017 – 61 of the 81.

One of their councillors has sadly died, but 27 out of 60 have chosen not to stand for election as a Conservative this time – an unusually high drop-out rate of 45 per cent.

One of those – Mike Bennison in Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Oxshott – is now being backed by Reform UK, formerly Brexit, while the others are standing down altogether.

Lib Dem group leader Chris Botten said he thought councillors had been alienated by the Conservative administration's bid last year to replace all 12 councils in Surrey with one.

He said: "I am shocked to see that so many Conservative councillors are retiring, including some very senior cabinet or former cabinet members.

"The council is clearly in a mess; that is why so many councillors are leaving. How can local people expect to have confidence in the Conservatives running Surrey County Council, if those running it do not?"

But council leader Tim Oliver said "nobody is leaving in a huff".

"No disrespect to anyone but the average age is quite high, well beyond normal retirement age," he said.  "Mel Few, for example, is in his late 70s.

"They've done their time and feel it's good to let some new blood in.

"It has been a tough three years, with the council going through significant transformation at pace; that's quite challenging for some, and I think the pandemic has had a major impact and some people have adjusted their views of life."

Notable members departing include cabinet members Mel Few (resources and corporate support), Zully Grant-Duff (corporate support) and Mary Lewis (children, young people and families), all of whom have served two terms.

But local politics may remain in the Lewis family, as Mary's husband David is to stand in her place.

"Although we are the same family, it's two very different skillsets," said Cllr Lewis.

"For me, even if it's not job done [in children's services], it's job moved forward."

She said she likes to give 100 per cent to what she does, and "there are so many things to do in life".

There are 30 current county council members not returning after the election, meaning 37 per cent of the chamber is guaranteed to look different.

The Conservatives are fielding candidates in all of Surrey's 81 seats, however, the only party to do so.

The second largest party in 2017 was the Liberal Democrats, with nine councillors (11 per cent of seats, 22 per cent of votes).

Currently there is also one Labour councillor and one Green Party councillor, with the remaining 12 seats held by independents or residents' association parties (following a death, a defection and a resignation from Conservatives).

The independents and residents' associations have a strong presence in next month's battle, with a total of 38  contesting seats, and there are also some fresh parties to choose from in some areas.

The "socially conservative" Heritage Party, which formed just last year, will field candidates in five of Woking's seven's seats.

And Residents for Guildford and Villages (R4GV), who share power with the Liberal Democrats on Guildford Borough Council, have put forward candidates in the county for the first time (in six of Guildford's 10 seats), having only formed two years ago.

R4GV group chair Fiona Davidson, who is standing in Guildford South East, said: "Given our success in 2019 we are optimistic, but not in any way complacent.

"A lot of what we want to achieve in Guildford depends on the county. Our town centre masterplan can only work with the support of the county council, who are responsible for things like highways and flooding.

"What unites everyone in the independents group is that we don't have the agenda of the national parties; we're focusing on what people who live in Surrey want."

Altogether there will be 331 candidates competing for 81 seats, with 14 political groups putting forward candidates, although not in every division.

The numbers of candidates for each political party/group are as follows:

Conservative Party: 18

Green Party: 36

Guildford Greenbelt Group: 1

Heritage Party – Free Speech & Liberty: 5

Independents: 20

Labour and Co-operative Party: 22

Labour Party: 57

Liberal Democrat: 72

Peace Party – Non-violence, Justice, Environment: 1

Reform UK: 6

Residents' Associations: 18

Trade Union & Socialist Coalition: 5

UKIP: 5

Workers Party of Britain: 2

Total: 331