Chris Coghlan seems to be a fairly present and hardworking local councillor, however the problem is he is not a councillor, he is the MP for Dorking & Horley.
The reason he comes across as a councillor is he spends most of his time working on council issues and making sure residents see him fixing potholes and other local problems. He has a large team of staff paid for by the public as part of his Parliamentary expense account and they answer all his social media and letters written to him by residents facing problems leaving him free to be seen and photographed across the constituency. He even utilises the taxpayer funded security guard service offered to MPs to escort him to local parish meetings giving a sense of great importance whereas MPs like Rebecca Paul in neighbouring Reigate rarely use this service preferring to save the taxpayer's money.
The reason for making this point is because Chris's voting record is 54% meaning he has missed 46% of important votes on a range of issues.
He could have missed these votes which is quite unusual as political parties expect their MPs to be present and engaged in Parliamentary business or he could have abstained which is quite typical of Liberal Democrats - it allows them to sit on the fence and avoid being unpopular with anyone and it the usual practice of someone who is short of real conviction and views on issues. Let's not forget Chris Coghlan has varied his values and beliefs several times having been a Conservative, a Renew candidate, an Independent candidate and then a Lib Dem.
Some of the votes he has conveniently missed are on The Welfare / Benefit Cuts Bill (2025) and proposed designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. He also voted against the rape gangs enquiry.
It is still early days in the Parliamentary cycle with 1.5 years since he won the General Election but Chris Coghlan should ensure he is 100% focused on national issues because the country is a mess and there is a lot to sort out from immigration to infrastructure. Leave council activities to councillors. Stop being so focused on social media and try to be a statesman and a leader who gets big things done. If Chris Coghlan does this even I would admit he was a good MP but at the moment all I see is showcasing and sweeping the big issues under the carpet.
