Woking News & Mail reports on Al Pinkerton MP’s call for clarity over debt-sharing in Surrey’s local government reorganisation
Concerns grow over how Woking’s debt will be shared as Surrey prepares for council reorganisation in 2027
The Woking News & Mail has reported that residents and MPs across Surrey are voicing concerns over how billions of pounds of council debt will be handled as the county prepares for local government reorganisation in 2027. With new unitary authorities set to be created, questions remain over which communities will shoulder Woking Borough Council’s financial burden.
Surrey Heath MP Dr Al Pinkerton welcomed the Government’s recent clarification on debt support but warned it does not go far enough.
“I welcome the Government finally setting out more detail on how it plans to handle Woking’s vast debts — debts built up over years of reckless Conservative mismanagement. But let’s be clear: this does nothing to address the true scale of the crisis. Surrey Heath residents played no part in creating Woking’s mess — nor did those in Spelthorne, Runnymede, Guildford, or Waverley.”
Dr Pinkerton told the Woking News & Mail that pressing ahead with reorganisation without tackling Woking’s debt was “unforgivable” and stressed that residents must not be unfairly burdened with costs they did not create.
You can read the full story in the Woking News & Mail, written by Georgia Hase.
