West Surrey Council
West Surrey Council | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 2027 |
| Preceded by | Surrey County Council |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
First election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
| Guildford[2] | |
| Website | |
| West Surrey Shadow Authority | |
West Surrey Council is a planned English unitary authority for the local government district of West Surrey.
History
[edit]As part of the Starmer ministry's planned local government reform (as set out by the English Devolution White Paper), a goal of "simpler local government structures",[3] was set out by the government, including a commitment to phase out two tier local government structures.[4] Surrey County Council applied to be part of the Devolution Priority Programme in 2025, which would fast-track the transition to a new local government arrangement. Surrey County Council, Mole Valley District Council, and Elmbridge Borough Council proposed a setup with two unitary authorities, whilst Epsom and Ewell, Guildford, Reigate and Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley, Woking Borough Councils, and Tandridge District Council proposed a setup with three unitary authorities.[5]
On 28 October 2025, the government announced its decision for two authorities to cover Surrey, though this raised concerns amongst local leaders around the financial position of the new West Surrey Council [6][7]
A spokesperson for Surrey Liberal Democrat MPs Zöe Franklin, Will Forster, and Al Pinkerton said that the party had concerns that the council would be "bankrupt from day one", with BBC figures showing that the districts forming West Surrey have a combined £4.5 billion in debt.[6]
Governance
[edit]The 2026 West Surrey Council election took place on 7 May 2026. The authority will take over local government responsibilities on 1 April 2027, and will operate as a shadow authority before then.[8][9]
Control
[edit]The inaugural election in 2026 saw the Liberal Democrats win a majority of the seats on the new authority.[10]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | May 2026–present | |
Leadership
[edit]Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. Paul Follows of the Liberal Democrats, leader of the outgoing Waverley Borough Council, was formally appointed as the leader of the shadow authority at its inaugural meeting in Guildford on 21 May 2026.[10][11]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Follows | Liberal Democrats | May 2026 | ||
Name
[edit]In March 2026, Surrey County Council voted for a motion to support changing the council name to "West Surrey and South Middlesex". The power to rename the council is held by the new West Surrey Council and would need to be approved by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.[12][13] The shadow council voted to approve the West Surrey and South Middlesex name on 30 July 2026 with the move supported by the Liberal Democrat group and opposed by the Conservative group.[14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "First meeting of West Surrey Shadow Authority marks milestone for new council". Spelthorne Borough Council. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- ↑ https://www.surreylgrhub.gov.uk/homepage/28/shadow-authorities
- ↑ "Local government reorganisation: Policy and programme updates". GOV.UK. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ↑ "Summary of the local government reorganisation process". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ↑ "Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament". questions-statements.parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- 1 2 "Surrey unitary council 'could be bankrupt from day one', say MPs". BBC News. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ↑ "Surrey to be split in two in council reorganisation". BBC News. 28 October 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ↑ "Government confirms new East and West councils for Surrey". Surrey County Council News. 28 October 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ↑ Ballinger, Chris; Bickle, Joseph; Caulfield, Chris; Shipp, Victoria; Williamson, Lucy (8 May 2026). "Surrey local elections 2026 results in full as party gets overall control". Surrey Live.
- 1 2 Berger, Hugo (17 May 2026). "Paul Follows elected leader of new West Surrey Council". Haslemere Herald. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Shadow Authority minutes, 21 May 2026" (PDF). West Surrey Shadow Authority. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Bid for new Surrey council to use South Middlesex in name agreed". BBC News. 18 March 2026. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ Rogers, Ellie (31 March 2026). "Naming of West Surrey". Surrey LGR Hub. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9w0y5xkkydo
External links
[edit] Local authorities in Surrey | |
|---|---|
| County council | |
| District councils | |
| Planned unitary councils | |