Local Government
The Lee is part of the Chiltern Ridges ward of Buckinghamshire Council, represented by Councillors Patricia Birchley (Cons), Jane MacBean (Cons) and Mohammed Fayyaz (LibDem).
In addition to The Lee, the ward is made up of the parishes of Chartridge and Cholesbury cum St Leonards, parts of Great Missenden Parish (Ballinger, South Heath and Hyde End), part of Little Missenden Parish (Hyde Heath) plus part of Chesham, and can be viewed on an interactive map.
The Lee, Chartridge and Cholesbury cum St Leonards, along with the town of Chesham and the parishes of Ashley Green, Latimer & Ley Hill and Chenies, are together represented at local level by the Chesham and Rural Villages Community Board.
The Lee Parish Council has responded to the Boundary Commission’s initial consultation on the future structure of local government in Buckinghamshire, which proposes a reduction in the number of county councillors from 147 to 98 and a redrawing of ward boundaries.
The Boundary Commission’s subsequent proposal is that The Lee should be part of a reconstituted Chiltern Ridges ward, represented by a single councillor. The new ward would comprise the parishes of Chartridge, Cholesbury-cum-St-Leonards, Latimer and Ley Hill, Chenies and Ashley Green – the same rural parishes as are represented by the Community Board. Further details of the proposed ward boundaries, and the opportunity to comment on the proposals before 5th December 2022, can be found here. The Lee Parish Council’s reponse can be found here.
National Government
The Lee is part of the Chesham and Amersham constituency, represented since June 2021 by Sarah Green, MP (LibDem).
The Lee Parish Council (TLPC) responded to the Boundary Commission for England’s (BCE) first consultation on the structuring of 2023 parliamentary constituencies, which proposed that The Lee, along with Chartridge, Cholesbury, the Missendens and Hyde Heath amongst others, move to the Princes Risborough constituency. A map of the proposed constituency, along with a summary of responses received in the first consultation, can be found via the Boundary Commission’s website. The second consulation, to which The Lee Parish Council did not respond, merely enabled comment on responses submitted to the first consultation but BCE made no amendments at this stage. The third consultation proposed changes, based on feedback to the first and second consultations. Despite all local comments being opposed to the proposal, the only change has been to rename the proposed constituency to Mid Buckinghamshire rather than Princes Risborough. TLPC finds this very disappointng, and has responded accordingly.