Tories deny Surrey residents the right to petition the Council

3.48.52pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 14th Jun 2005

Councillors Eddie Owen and John Doran were both newly elected to the Council in May 2005

The new Lib Dem team at County Hall dived straight in today, putting forward proposals to give Surrey residents the right to present petitions to the Full Council. For the first time this would allow residents direct access to its most important decision-making body. The intention was to make the County Council more democratic by bringing it into line with the many other councils across the country that already give their residents this right. The motion was proposed by Eddie Owen (Guildford East) and seconded by John Doran (Horsell). However the proposals were voted down by an alliance of Conservative and Labour councillors, so Surrey residents will continue to be denied the rights available to residents in many other parts of the country.

The formal motion proposed by County Councillor Eddie Owen was that the Council " .... agrees to permit Surrey residents to present and speak to petitions with at least 100 signatures at County Council meetings". After the vote, Eddie Owen said: "I am disappointed that the County Council did not support this modest initiative to make the Council more democratic and accountable to the Surrey residents it serves. Many other Councils throughout the country already allow this to happen and give their residents more rights in the decision-making process of their councils."

"It is a shame that Surrey residents will continue to be denied this basic right and will continue to miss out on opportunities to engage with the councillors who serve them", he concluded.