Don’t pass the buck on Surrey councils’ debts.

Councils across Surrey have debts of £6 billion as a result of poor financial decisions made by former and current Conservative council leaderships especially at Woking Borough Council, Spelthorne Borough Council and Surrey County Council. Under Government plans to reshape the way councils in our area work, Surrey is going to be split into two or three new unitary authorities where all services are run by a single council. Currently it is unclear how this debt will be paid for and whether local residents will be required to foot the bill. We believe it is wrong that communities that are not responsible for the debt should carry that burden. The Government has promised to support Woking Borough Council with its unaffordable debts of £1.5 billion, but there are no details of the support available – action is needed as soon as possible. If the debt is to be paid by residents in the new unitary council areas it would likely mean they were effectively bankrupt and unable to ensure resident needs are met from day one. Add your name to this petition and send a clear message to the Labour Government that saddling the new authorities and residents across Surrey with billions of debt they will be paying off for decades is wrong, unfair and regressive. It also flies in the face of their clear statement that new councils should put benefit to people at the heart of the change.