Will Forster is the Liberal Democrat MP for Woking, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Forster received 24,019 votes (49.9%). The Conservative candidate, Jonathan Lord, received 12,773 votes (26.5%), while the Reform UK candidate, Richard Barker, secured 4,888 votes (10.2%). Forster was elected with a majority of 11,246 votes.

The Woking constituency is located in Surrey, South East England. Created in 1950, the seat had been held continuously by the Conservative Party until Forster’s victory in 2024.

Forster’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Woking was Jonathan Lord of the Conservative Party.

Political Career

Forster currently serves on the Liberal Democrat frontbench as deputy chief whip (since September 2026). He previously served as immigration and asylum spokesperson (2025-2026).

Forster is a member of the House of Commons housing, communities and local government select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for scrutinising the policy, spending, and administration of the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government and its associated public bodies.

In April 2025, Forster was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Forster is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for South Western Railway (chair), the baking industry and Parkrun.

Forster delivered his maiden speech on 4 September 2024 in a debate on the Budget Responsibility Bill.

In it, he said: “My journey into politics began because of Surrey county council’s failure to protect vulnerable children. At the time, it was rated the worst county council in the country because of that failure. We cannot allow vulnerable children to be failed again.”

He added: “The wider theme of why I was elected, and indeed why so many of my hard-working Liberal Democrat colleagues have been elected, is that we understand our communities’ local issues.

“I have worked for 15 years in local government and served as deputy leader of Woking council. I have seen first hand the crippling issues that some councils face.”

Before entering parliament, Forster accumulated extensive experience in local government. He was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Surrey County Council in 2009 and a councillor on Woking Borough Council in 2011.

Forster served as mayor of Woking from 2018 to 2019 and was deputy leader of Woking Borough Council from 2022 to 2024. He was leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Surrey County Council from 2021 to 2024.

Forster stood down from both Surrey County Council and Woking Borough Council in 2025.

Forster stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Woking in the 2017 and 2019 general elections.

Political Views

The Liberal Democrats (or Lib Dems) are a liberal political party, occupying the centre to centre-left ground in British politics.

The preamble to the Lib Dem constitution begins: “The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.”

The Liberal Democrat autumn conference in 2021 ratified a policy paper entitled What Liberal Democrats Believe. The paper, an attempt to expand on the constitution’s preamble, was framed around seven “principles and values”.

The party’s core values were described as “liberty, equality, democracy, community, internationalism and environmentalism.”

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Forster voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Electoral reform

Electoral reform amendment: In May 2026, Forster signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system.

At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

Proportional representation bill: In December 2024, Forster voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.

A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.

Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.

“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”

Assisted dying

Forster voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Forster was one of the six Liberal Democrat MPs who voted against the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 at its House of Commons third reading. This went against the majority of his party (38 Liberal Democrat MPs voted for the legislation).

In a social media post at the time, Forster stated: “I’ve just voted against the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The Liberal Democrats and I support the bill’s measures on vaping like tackling single use vapes on environmental grounds – but I couldn’t back the bill due to its illiberal age restrictions.”

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Forster voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Born in 1986, Forster grew up in Goldsworth Park and Horsell. He attended local schools including Horsell Church of England Junior School, Woking High School and Woking College.

Forster worked for the Liberal Democrats alongside his tenure as a councillor. He served as a campaign manager for the South East region from 2022 to 2024.

Personal Life

Forster lives in his Woking constituency. He has a long-haired dachshund named Toffee.

Trivia

Forster is the first non-Conservative MP elected for the Woking constituency since its creation in 1950.