The Liberal Democrats won 12 of 17 seats on Haslemere Town Council – and six of Haslemere, Hindhead and Beacon Hill’s seven borough council seats – at last Thursday’s local elections, increasing their influence in the area.

It marks an improvement on the seven Haslemere Town Council seats won by the Lib Dems in 2019, and gives the party an outright majority at the town hall.

The Lib Dems’ success came at the expense of the Conservatives, which saw its number of seats cut from six to just three at the town council. 

But the Green Party retained its two seats.

The news was met with delight by the Lib Dem councillor for Haslemere West, and former town mayor, John Robini.

“It’s been a lot of hard work,” said Cllr Robini. “We are very pleased with the result, and we can now push some liberal ideas through in Haslemere, which is the jewel of the south and we want to make sure it remains that way.”

Cllr Robini thanked residents for placing their trust in Lib Dem candidates, and emphasised the party’s transparency and commitment to working with the community would continue.

“All our councillors commit to working hard for the community, to engage with residents and to listen to your concerns,” he said.

Cllr Robini also addressed the key issues that arose during the election campaign, including highways and planning. He acknowledged highways were a significant problem for the community, despite it being the responsibility of Surrey County Council.

“A need to improve the state of our roads is what came through clearly on everybody’s doorstep,” he said.

On planning, Cllr Robini said there were a lot of misconceptions around local housing policy, but added his party was committed to preserving greenfield sites and developing only brownfield sites.

“We don’t want to build on greenfield sites. We want to build on only brownfield sites and keep our countryside for the people, as it should be, in the community,” he said.

Elected to Haslemere Town Council were:

Hindhead & Beacon Hill:

Haslemere North:

Haslemere South:

Haslemere West:

Find the full borough results here.