FARNHAM Residents county councillors Stephen Spence and Andy MacLeod joined last Saturday’s #austeritykills march and rally in Woking objecting to central government cuts and their impact on public services in Surrey.

Campaign group Save Our Services in Surrey, supported by the Surrey Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Railworkers Union (RMT) and UNISON, the public sector union, called for a “major display of public anger against Tory austerity in Surrey and beyond” and were joined on the march by around 200 people.

The rally made its way from Woking Borough Council offices to Jubilee Square where speeches were given by unionists and county councillors from the Labour Party, Green Party and the independent residents’ groups as well as the Socialist Party and Save Our Services in Surrey.

The call will be for an immediate General Election and an end to austerity.

Farnham Residents county councillor for Farnham North Stephen Spence was asked to speak on behalf of Surrey’s independent Residents group at the march.

He said: “To the end of 2021 £833m will have been earmarked for cuts from Surrey’s budget. We can’t go on like this.

“Either Jeremy Corbyn will get elected and put the money back in or else the Conservatives will have to in order to stop Corbyn being elected.

“In the meantime, residents have got to get active and have their voices heard by making submissions to the consultation to defend the services they value.”

Save Our Services in Surrey added in a statement: “Already, cuts in public services have compromised public safety – fire services have been cut to the bone. Closures of fire stations are still planned. The proposed removal of guards from our trains is yet another example of a callous disregard for public safety. Local health services have been cut.

“The scale of local authority cuts across all services has already been disastrous yet Surrey County Council are now consulting on millions of pounds of further cuts in children’s centres, waste management, libraries, concessionary bus fares and special educational needs.

“Austerity is not a necessity – it is a political choice. Our councillors should be standing up to the government and saying no. We cannot take any more cuts.

“We need a reversal of the cuts and a massive injection of public funding to restore our much-needed public services.”