The likelihood of a referendum on a directly-elected mayor has created a lively debate on democratic accountability and scrutiny in Guildford. Yet such scrutiny cuts both ways. If the Trinity Party wants to run Guildford Borough through an elected Mayor, we should quite legitimately ask what it is and what it stands for.
Trinity’s accounts, deposited with the Electoral Commission, reveal the Party has just five members and has been bankrolled solely by Michel Harper and Raschid Abdullah. The accounts even admit, “the Trinity Party has limited appeal to those other than its founders”. Indeed, in the 2003 local elections, they won a total of 902 votes across Guildford, having spent £8 per vote in election expenses.
It is a matter of public record that Mr Harper is the director of Trinity Investment Co. Ltd and associated companies, financing the controversial proposals for a casino in Bridge Street and a stadium on the green space of Stoke Park. Unsurprisingly, the Trinity Party also supports the development of a casino and a stadium.
I do not begrudge anyone’s right to take part in the democratic process or to run his or her own business. But I question whether the Trinity Party is motivated by the welfare of Guildford’s residents, or if it is just the political mouthpiece for the lawful, but decidedly commercial, interests of a small number of private individuals.
Cllr Sheridan Westlake
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