Clearing up county council elections

Concerns about ‘cancelling’ May’s county council elections (Farnham Herald, January 23) miss the point – this is just a postponement to May 2026.

Why? Labour’s Government is fulfilling its manifesto pledge to devolve power from Westminster allowing our communities to take back control.

It starts with replacing the arcane and inefficient duplication of county and district/borough councils. Surrey, for example, currently has 12 different councils! Under the unitary system each county will probably end up with just two or three unitary authorities (UAs). Many other areas of England have already made this switch.

Surrey and Hampshire are among 16 counties opting to be in the first wave of these UAs scheduled by the government for 2026. The five remaining county councils will need to have plans ready by the autumn of this year.

What would be the point of electing new county councils this year, only to abolish them and have the extra expense of the unitary council elections just twelve months later?

Existing town and parish councils will remain as they are, continuing to handle hyper-local services.

With UAs established, the next step is devolving even greater power to regional mayors for integration of transport, adult education and skills, housing and planning and more.

Surrey Labour has long backed this shift, and we hope that the current Tory-led county councils continue to work constructively to deliver power closer to the people.

Dave Shurlock

Secretary

Farnham Labour

I was fascinated by your article in The Herald (January 23) describing the visit of King Edward VII to Midhurst Sanatorium (which, to be honest, I couldn’t trace precisely as it was turned into luxury accommodation in the early 21st century).

But it was the King’s journey from Haslemere station that interested me as it must have taken at least an hour in his open top landau and presumably had to negotiate the steep 700-foot hill near Henley and, of course, return.

Does anyone know whether he took that route? Remember too it was in November!

Dr R A J Nicholas

Nutshell Lane

Farnham

I was very interested to read the article about ‘The tall tale of the Trumpeter of Selborne and the 1830 Swing Riots’ in The Herald (January 16). I am a volunteer at Farnham Museum, and I remember being told the story some years ago, not long after I started there. I am most grateful to you for publishing it and refreshing my memory!

A few months ago, the museum started offering guided tours of the house and one or two visitors have asked about a wooden grave marker which is next to the original 1718 drainpipe to the left of the house.

No one that I have previously asked has been able to recall the Trumpeter's story can tell me why the post is there. However, I do remember that the story I was told ended by saying that the original grave marker (i.e. the post) was replaced by a headstone but we don't know why or when.

Also, the Trumpeter was from Selbourne and there is no mention of him having a connection to Farnham.

If any The Herald readers were able to solve this mystery, I and my colleagues at the museum would be most grateful.

Marilyn Lindsey

Volunteer

Farnham Museum

After years of talk and gimmicks from the Conservative Party, how good it is to see yet more evidence of our magnificent home secretary smashing evil smuggling gangs.

First, Labour is introducing terror-style powers to arrest and disrupt people smugglers.

Second, the new Border Security Command is to be given powers to work together and set a long term vision for working on border security.

Third, Labour is expanding serious crime prevention orders to issue travel and social media bans on smugglers.

Fourth, there will be new biometric data powers to identify those who pose a threat to the national security of our country.

And finally, there will be a new offence for endangering life at sea.

Five well thought-out proposals proving that whereas the Conservative Party was and still is all talk, Labour is taking action to make Britain great again and I commend these plans to every reader.

Geoffrey Brooking

Saxley Court

Havant

This week, we learnt that in April, water bills will be rising even more than the amount announced by Ofwat at the end of last year, due to the effects of inflation.

This will be extremely distressing news for the millions of older people living on low incomes across the country who were already braced for a steep increase, and will now have to find even more money from their stretched budgets.

Polling we commissioned in October revealed the widespread anxiety felt by many people in later life regarding their water bills, with 66 percent of older people (65+) in England with an income of under £15,000 saying they would find it difficult to manage a 20 percent increase to their water bill.

With the postcode lottery of water costs, some people are now facing increases of more than 40 percent The older people we speak to are already making drastic cutbacks to save on water. This means not showering every day, leaving bedding and clothes dirty to save on laundry and not always flushing the toilet. This shouldn’t be happening in modern Britain.

There is some support out there as all water companies do provide a social tariff, but the system is hampered by an unfair postcode lottery, consumers can’t shop around for a provider and are faced with a patchwork of different schemes with varying eligibility criteria and fluctuating discounts.

That’s why we’re urging the UK Government to introduce a single standardised social tariff for England and Wales to support those struggling to afford their water bills. Where you live shouldn’t dictate how much help you receive toward an essential bill, and in 2025, nobody should be having to limit their water usage because of cost.

Morgan Vine

Director of Policy and Influencing

Independent Age