West Surrey Council
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
West Surrey Council | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 2027 |
| Preceded by | Surrey County Council |
| Structure | |
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
First election | 7 May 2026 |
| Website | |
| West Surrey Joint Committee | |
West Surrey Council is a planned English unitary authority for the local government district of West Surrey.
Timeline
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",[1] was set out by the government, including a commitment to phase out two tier local government structures.[2] 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.[3]
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 [4][5]
The 2026 West Surrey Council election is set to take place on 7 May 2026, with the authority taking over local government responsibilities on 1 April 2027.[6]
Debt
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.[4]
Name
Surrey County Council voted for a motion for the council to be named "West Surrey and South Middlesex Council", however, a name change would need to be approved by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to become permanent.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Bid for new Surrey council to use South Middlesex in name agreed". BBC News. 18 March 2026. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
 Local authorities in Surrey | |
|---|---|
| County council | |
| District councils | |
| Planned unitary councils | |
