One year as Woking’s MP

A little over a year ago, on 5^th July 2024, I had the honour of a lifetime by being elected as Woking’s Member of Parliament – and what a year it has been!  

I’ve worked tirelessly to put our community first – tackling the issues that matter to local people and holding those in power to account. 

Here are some of the highlights of the big campaigns I have worked on throughout the course of the year... 

I have challenged the £2 billion debt crisis left by the previous Conservative-run Council by getting the Government to reduce the interest rate Woking has to pay. 

I’m also working to honour the legacy of Sara Sharif by campaigning for 'Sara’s Law' – new national standards to improve early intervention in child safeguarding, to help prevent such devastating tragedies in future. 

As Chair of the new All-Party Parliamentary Group on South Western Railway, I’m fighting to improve rail services for commuters in Woking and beyond – making sure passengers get the reliable, affordable service they deserve. 

But that’s not all! In my final Woking News and Mail column before Parliament’s summer recess, I have taken an in depth look back at my first year, including getting to grips with the bizarre tradition of bobbing, upsetting a man with a sword and being told I've spoken too much in the chamber.  

You can read my column in full here. 

It’s been a hugely productive first year, and I’m proud of all we’ve achieved together... But this is only the beginning! As I head into my second year, I’m determined to keep listening, keep working, and keep delivering for everyone in Woking. 

A successful night for the Lib Dems in Woking’s by-elections! 

As many of you will know, for the last 16 years I have been a County Councillor in Woking South and Borough Councillor in Hoe Valley for the last 14 – but not anymore! 

After being elected as Woking’s MP, it quickly became apparent that I could not give my all to these positions. 

I had intended to step down prior to May’s local elections. With Woking Borough Council’s precarious financial position, I didn’t want to trigger by-elections and the associated costs. 

Sadly, the Labour government forced my hand by cancelling these, at the request of the Conservative administration on Surrey County Council, to fast-track local government reorganisation in the county.  

6 weeks ago, I tendered my resignation and on Thursday the by-elections were held. 

I’m very pleased to say that these were an enormous success for the Liberal Democrats with Deborah Hughes and Louise Morales both securing enormous victories on the Borough and County Council elections respectively – congratulations to both!  

This is a testament to the hard work of the Lib Dem team and a huge vote of confidence in the job we have done to stabilise council finances and deliver for the local community – the public has definitely noticed!  

Calling for urgent action on railway accessibility 

I would like to say that I was shocked to discover that one of the lifts at Woking station was closed for a staggering 40 days last year, but I wasn’t. I use the station on an almost daily basis and have witnessed first-hand the frequency of lift outages. 

This is completely unacceptable. Many Woking residents use the station on a daily basis, to get to work, school or an important hospital appointment.   

When the station lift is closed, wheelchair users and others with accessibility needs are left stranded. This doesn’t just cause significant disruption to someone’s day but can also be an upsetting or distressing experience.  

What’s even more alarming is the frequency of closures is increasing. 40 days is nearly triple the number of days it was closed in 2023, when it was unavailable for 14 days. 

The other two lifts at Woking Station also saw significant increases in downtime, with one out of service for 9 additional days and another for 24 more days than the previous year.   

These prolonged closures are simply unacceptable. That is why I’m calling on the Government to get to grips with the lack of accessibility at railways, hold rail companies and Network Rail to account, and ensure our transport system is accessible for everyone.  

I have also raised these concerns with South Western Railway (SWR) and they have informed me that an intermittent hardware fault is affecting the lift on the island platform.  

Because the lift is not performing reliably, it has been taken out of service until a further maintenance visit. A full repair, likely involving part replacement, is pending and SWR confirmed that they will follow up with Network Rail for a repair timescale.   

On a more positive note, they stated that signallers are actively routing trains onto platforms with step-free access whenever they know a passenger with accessibility needs is onboard or waiting.   

The Liberal Democrats and I will continue to press the government for wider accessibility for train stations with measures including reinvigorating the Access for All Programme (AfA) and creating a statutory duty on accessibility for the railway.