Update from Cllr James Jones, Onslow Ward

It has been an honour and privilege to serve Onslow ward as a borough councillor for the past three years and I had hoped to serve my full term. However my personal circumstances have changed and I’ve relocated to pursue a job opportunity. I have therefore with sadness handed in my resignation from Guildford Borough Council this week. 

A by-election will take place in due course but I wanted to share my heartfelt thanks to my councillor colleagues Angela and Steven, and most importantly you - the wonderful residents of Onslow. It has been an honour to serve as your councillor.

Below is the full text of my letter of resignation.

Best, 
Cllr James Jones

It has been a real honour and privilege to serve as a ward councillor for Onslow over the
past three years. I had hoped to complete my full term, and ideally to continue serving
beyond it, as the role has been both incredibly rewarding and deeply fulfilling.

However, my personal circumstances have recently changed and I have relocated to
London to pursue a career opportunity. As I no longer live or work within the Borough, I
do not feel it would be right to continue in this position. The residents of Onslow deserve
a dedicated local representative to champion their interests on the Council, and I regret
that I am no longer able to fulfil that responsibility in the way they deserve.

I am therefore writing to formally tender my resignation as a Councillor, effective
immediately.

Reflecting on my time in office, I am immensely proud of what we have achieved for
both the ward and the wider community. I have been pleased to serve within the Liberal
Democrat administration which has worked hard to stabilise the Council’s finances
while continuing to deliver high quality services for residents.

It has also been a genuine pleasure to undertake a number of roles during my tenure,
including Chair of the Joint Constitution Review Group, Member of the Corporate
Governance and Finance Committee, Member of the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee, Member of the Climate Change Board, and more recently Vice Chair of the
Planning Committee. I am grateful for the trust placed in me in each of these positions.
Finally, I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to my Liberal Democrat
colleagues, particularly my fellow Onslow ward councillors, with whom it has been a
true privilege to serve alongside.

Please accept this letter as my formal resignation, and I trust the necessary steps will
now be taken to arrange a by-election.

Yours sincerely,
James Jones