The Liberal Democrat leader of Waverley Borough Council has called for focus following the shock withdrawal of the Farnham Residents Group (FRG) from the administration.

Cllr Paul Follows has thanked FRG councillors for their service to WBC and the borough in a statement, welcoming their “constructive opposition and scrutiny”.

But the group’s exit opens the door for “new official opposition” and he’s suggested they may have the borough’s interests more at heart, rather than just Farnham’s.

Cllr Follows said: “Being a Waverley Borough Councillor, certainly in my opinion anyway, means you have to think about the whole of Waverley and not just one part of it - not always an easy job.

“That has been something that Farnham Resident councillors have often struggled with as their focus is predominantly on one area.

“We must be equitable to all residents of Waverley in how we get best value for their money and how we provide them with the best services possible.”

Cllr Follows added: “This will be even more true as Waverley is dissolved into the new Unitary of West Surrey, in which even a town as large as Farnham is less than six per cent of the population of that new council area.

“I firmly believe that one of the reasons people vote Liberal Democrat in Waverley is because we can balance the truly local with the wider needs of the whole community of the borough and we can do so professionally and with compassion and respect.

“Waverley (and now perhaps Guildford) are essentially the only truly solvent and stable boroughs in Surrey. It is a great shame that Waverley will soon cease to exist.

“I am proud that you will always know what Liberal Democrats stand for wherever we are standing and that you can count on us to work to make all parts of the areas the electorate have trusted us to govern.”