Lib Dem success as Surrey County Council axes unpopular magazine
Liberal Democrat councillors have welcomed the decision by Conservative-run Surrey County Council to cease the publication of its unpopular "Surrey Matters" magazine.
The magazine, which has cost council tax payers over £1.2m since 2011, was axed following a meeting of the County Council's Cabinet at the end of March. The last edition was published in January 2017 and the cancellation will save the County Council approximately £250K a year.
Councillor Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council said:
"I have called for this magazine to be discontinued for several years now and am delighted that pressure from Liberal Democrat councillors and residents has paid off. People just did not think a glossy magazine from the County Council was a good use of public money when funding is so tight.
"The Conservative-run County Council has wasted over one million pounds on a propaganda magazine promoting themselves. Surrey Matters should have been discontinued years ago, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds which could have been spent on essential services for Surrey residents. The decision to cancel the magazine is welcome news and a victory for all of those who have been calling for Surrey Matters to be scrapped".
Notes
- The decision to axe the magazine can be found here (p19):