Deborah moved to Westfield twenty years ago to be nearer her work at a local hospital where she worked as a Chartered Physiotherapist. She has worked in this time at several hospitals in the area and also for Surrey Heartlands, programme managing initiatives to improve poor health prevention and enhance mental health. She is committed to the NHS, whilst recognising that structural review is required, is against any privatisation of this essential service. She would like to see health and social care come out of the whims of government control. 

Serving two terms as a Woking Borough Councillor, representing the residents of Hoe Valley until 2022, Deborah has the experience needed to take on this role again. In addition to the individual support for local residents she was involved in tackling some of the traffic and parking issued locally. For example, working on Speed Watch providing evidence which later saw traffic calming in Westfield Road; getting Loop Road car park resurfaced and marked, and working with stakeholders to get Bonsey Lane traffic restrictions at school times to permit two way traffic. This followed a series of incidents of cars mounting pavements and putting families at risk.

During this period Deborah served as Chair of the Council's Scrutiny committee and in opposition set up a task group to investigate the administration's decisions in relation to the proposed football club development, where more than a 1000 flats were planned on a inappropriate site. The report that Deborah wrote as a result of this work was the first to publicly identify the poor financial management of the administration at that time. Loans offered to a company without proven assets; no minutes of meetings with officers and contractors; no surveys or valuation of land purchased are just a few examples of what was uncovered.

Since 2022 Deborah has continued to work with the Lib Dems as Chair of the Local Party and was heavily involved in the campaign to get Will Forster elected as the first non Conservative MP for Woking. She continued to regularly knock on doors locally and speak to residents, so she is fully aware of local issues and challenges of residents.

Deborah loves living in Hoe Valley with the wonderful green spaces that are there. She has supported and worked with local residents in enhancing the garden areas in Rydens way when the new infill development was built. She is committed to preserving our green spaces and ensuring that they and the play areas are accessible and safe for all to enjoy. 

As Woking faces the change in Local Government Reform dictated by the Labour Government, and moves to a Unitary authority in conjunction with other neighbouring districts and boroughs, Deborah would like to enhance the role of community groups to ensure that resident voices and needs are heard and acted upon. She would like to see a Local Plan for the area ratified by the Council, worked on and agreed with local residents, following which local funds would be available to enhance community assets in Hoe Valley and Borough planning decisions would have to consider the Local Plan in it's determinatio

Email: Deborah.Hughes@wokinglibdems.org.uk