Liberal Democrat county councillors have condemned a decision by Conservative-run Surrey County Council to award a £400K grant to an art gallery which has £38m of funds and an income of £1.2m a year.
The Watts Gallery in Compton, Guildford, was awarded the money following a decision by the Leader of the Council at a meeting on 12th September 2017. In the papers produced, the County Council's Chief Finance Officer warns that the County Council's financial position is extremely serious, that the proposed expenditure has not been budgeted for and that the gallery was already "financially viable".

Over two thousand residents have signed a Liberal Democrat petition against Surrey County Council's proposals to close the popular and well-used Community Recycling Centre (CRC) in Warlingham. The County Council is also planning to reduce the opening hours of all the remaining CRCs, as well as scrapping the daily free waste allowance in order to save £2m from its budget.

Charles Lister said: "Right now, we are experiencing shortsighted cuts imposed by Tory-controlled Surrey County Council, with street lighting turned off at night and the Bond Road tip under threat of closure."

Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable has warned that Donald Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the US military shows the battle for LBGT+ rights is far from won.

In a piece for the Pink News website marking the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality, Vince Cable said:

"President Trump’s re-introduction of the ban on transgender people in the US military this week shows that the battle for LGBT+ rights is far from won.

Caterham on the Hill Liberal Democrat Surrey County Councillor Chris Botten, a Tandridge District Councillor for Caterham, Surrey, and the Leader of the opposition on the District Council, talks to Kevin Black, County Border News, about the Tandridge Local Plan and other matters which concern him.