Dear friends, welcome to our latest local Update.

We've kept the relevant links to the COVID information at the bottom of the Update for your ready reference, but we are sure you are aware of the main thrust which is "we can do more, but let's not be stupid since variants keep on popping up". You will see from the data that the number of cases locally seems to have stopped falling.

Here is the text from the Electoral Reform Society:

The government have just announced in the Queen's Speech that they will legislate to make it harder for millions of ordinary people to vote.

Demanding ID at the doors of every polling station is a solution in search of a problem. Voting is safe and secure in the UK, meaning this policy is just an unnecessary barrier to democratic participation. Ministers need to listen to these concerns and drop these costly plans.

Paul Kennedy, Liberal Democrat candidate for Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner, has challenged the Conservative candidate's claims that her links with Conservative Ministers will somehow deliver more police funding for Surrey. Experience shows that Ministers just take Surrey Conservatives for granted, preferring to channel extra funding to "red wall" seats in the North.

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 our local community in Surrey.

This new funding would go directly to Surrey County Council to fund green infrastructure, and improve the local environment.

Dear friends, welcome to our latest Update covering material since our last one on 27 March. This is a short one as we have been "hitting the campaign trail" in preparation for the Surrey County Council elections on 6 May. We are posting regular updates on this on our Facebook site here.

If you are nervous about voting in person it is easy to get a postal vote using this form. Latest day for postal vote applications is Tuesday 20th April at 5pm in the Town Hall postbox outside the front door. You can also vote by Proxy if you are not going to be around. Contact us for a form. The deadline is 27th April.

Local Liberal Democrat Police and Crime Commissioner candidate Paul Kennedy is calling for a return to proper community policing, as half of all people say they never see police patrols in their local area.

New analysis by the Liberal Democrats reveals that 32229 crimes reported to Surrey Police last year were closed without a suspect being identified - including 4419 burglaries, 1162 car thefts and 183 robberies.