Small and medium-sized businesses, from tech start-ups to hairdressers and cafes, in Surrey will pay an extra £47 million a year due to the rise in national insurance, research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has found.

Boris Johnson broke his 2019 manifesto promise by raising employer National Insurance Contributions by 1.25%, impacting small businesses in Surrey and across the country. House of Commons Library research has detailed the impact of the tax rises, and it is estimated that the average micro-business employing up to nine people will pay more than £1,000 extra a year as a result of the tax hike.

Years of Conservative failure have left residents across the country facing a devastating cost of living crisis.

Families already struggling to recover from the pandemic face a triple whammy of tax rises, benefit reductions and record price increases.

The UK's energy crisis leaves many residents with a choice between eating and heating this winter - with even bigger price rises expected in the new year.

Surrey Lib Dems have responded to the county council's local transport plan. "It says all the right things about where Surrey needs to get to in terms of transforming travel and transport for residents and businesses but falls short in setting out the steps for getting there." See full response.

There is still time for members of the public to submit their views on the proposals before the deadline of 24 October.

The Lib Dems have questioned Surrey County Council's process of selecting a new highways maintenance contractor which has resulted in the three final bids coming from companies all with a history of failing Surrey residents.

The Council's Cabinet met yesterday and agreed to award the contract to either Amey, Kier or Ringway. Initially the contract will be for 10 years, but a possible extension could take it to 21 years with a total value of about £2.5bn.

Dear friends, welcome back to our Updates.

We started writing these to keep people updated on COVID matters, in particular local implications, and it has been a while since our last edition back in May. After a summer recharging our batteries, we will now send these Updates monthly and will be concentrating on Borough and County matters. Although COVID is still a huge concern, we don't think we can add much through these letters.

The Lib Dems have called Surrey County Council's draft County Deal for Surrey bid a 'power gr ab'.

The County Council is currently putting together a bid for more powers from central government as part of a County Deal for Surrey. However, there is growing concern that the County Deal bid is a simple power grab to enable the Council to become a unitary authority by the back door.

We want to ensure we understand your key concerns, both locally and nationally. We are also always in need for more help to promote our liberal values, and would welcome new support.

Please complete the survey which is split between:

• Borough issues: With just two Borough councillors out of 36, we have to focus our efforts on areas where we can try and persuade the RA to do things better. Could you please rank the various topics which are under the Borough's control from 1 (most important) to 6 (least important):