Lib Dem surge in Horsleys by-election boosts Zöe Franklin’s bid to be Guildford’s next MP
- Local champion Paul Kennedy triples Lib Dem vote share from 12% to 37% in a county division set to be part of Guildford constituency at next general election
- Conservatives slump to a poor 3rd place in this traditional Tory stronghold, with Labour 4th on just 99 votes (3%)
- Residents (R4GV) majority over Lib Dems slashed from nearly 1700 to just 72 votes
Liberal Democrat Paul Kennedy came agonisingly close to winning the Horsley by-election for Surrey County Council, a division where the Liberal Democrats have never won.
The by-election in the Horsleys division on Thursday 19th October was dominated by voters' concerns about the impact of the Guildford Local Plan pushed through by the previous Conservative administration in 2019, particularly the lack of infrastructure for the unsustainable Wisley New Town scheme. As a former parliamentary candidate for Mole Valley, Paul Kennedy has consistently opposed the scheme, and was the only candidate who spoke up for residents at the public inquiry which was running concurrently.
With residents set to vote for a Guildford MP at the next general election following boundary changes, national issues also came up a lot on the doorstep. There was strong support for Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Zöe Franklin, and voters were keen to send a message to this out of touch Conservative government.
Compared with the 2021 county council elections, support for the Liberal Democrats was up 25% to 37%, with the Conservatives down 17% to just 20%, and R4GV down 9% to 39%.
Paul Kennedy said:
“This by-election came out of the blue, but it was a pleasure to return to campaigning in the Horsleys, and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who gave me such a strong welcome on the door. Residents were fed up with being taken for granted by the Conservatives who run Surrey County Council, and by a complacent Residents group which has run out of ideas.
“We ran a positive campaign on the issues residents cared about, which focused on securing a better deal for the Horsleys from Surrey County Council. It is disappointing we didn’t quite get over the line this time, but this result is a massive boost for Zöe Franklin’s bid to become Guildford’s MP at the next general election.”
Zöe Franklin, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Guildford and Our Villages, said:
“We were really lucky to have Paul Kennedy as our candidate in this by-election, and he would have been a brilliant county councillor for the Horsleys. Paul’s energy, vision and local knowledge contrasted with lacklustre campaigns from the Conservatives and R4GV who had nothing positive to say.
”While it is obviously disappointing not to have a Liberal Democrat champion standing up for the Horsleys on Surrey County Council, the 21% swing from Conservatives to Liberal Democrats leaves us in good heart ahead of the general election.”
