Liberal Democrats win picturesque Surrey Hills seat from Conservatives in by-election landslide

Liberal Democrat Richard Morris won a stunning victory last week in the Tillingbourne by-election in rural blue wall Surrey, taking a seat off the Conservatives on Guildford Borough Council.

The by-election in Tillingbourne was dominated by voters' concerns about the cost of living crisis, local Thames Water issues and speeding locally, and took place on the same day as Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister. The day before Polling Day, the local Conservative MP voted in favour of fracking, despite constituents' fierce opposition to new drilling in the Surrey Hills.

Winning Liberal Democrat candidate, Richard Morris, won over 46% of the vote - more than double the votes of the second-place Conservative candidate who achieved just over 21% of the vote share.

Newly elected Councillor Richard Morris said:

"I want to say a big thank you to voters in Tillingbourne for electing me as their Borough Councillor. I have served the public as a former senior police officer, I am delighted I will continue to serve them, this time as a Councillor."

"The villages that makeup Tillingbourne ward have serious concerns that have been neglected by the Conservatives for too long. Their vote yesterday for the Liberal Democrats shows confidence in our majority group on Guildford Borough Council.

"As councillor, my priorities are to get action from Thames Water after a summer of water supply problems for local residents, including people in Shere and other local villages who were without water for four days on one of the hottest days of the summer; work with residents to reduce speeding on our roads; and fight to prevent fracking in our precious Surrey Hills."

"The chaos of the Conservatives nationally was regularly raised by people on the doorstep. People in Tillingbourne deserve better than this incompetent and chaotic Government, the Conservative party have proven time and time again that they are not fit to lead our country. Local voters were clearly sending a message to the Conservatives that their MPs cannot prop up more of this appalling and irresponsible chaos"

The Tillingbourne ward includes the villages of Abinger, Albury, Chilworth, Gomshall, Holmbury St Mary, Peaslake and Shere. This by-election result takes the Liberal Democrat council group on Guildford Borough to seventeen, cementing their position as the largest group and leaves the Conservatives with just eight out of forty-eight Councillors. Until May 2019 they ran the local authority with a large majority. The council is currently run by a combined administration of the Liberal Democrats and Residents for Guildford and Villages (R4GV) with Liberal Democrat councillor Julia McShane as Leader of the Council.

Full results:

Liberal Democrat: 636 (46.5%)
Conservative: 293 (21.4%)
R4GV: 185 (13.5%)
Green: 168 (12.3%)
Labour: 85 (6.2%)