West Surrey Council is a shadow English unitary authority for the local government district of West Surrey.
History 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", was set out by the government, including a commitment to phase out two tier local government structures. 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.
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
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.
Governance 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.
Control The inaugural election in 2026 saw the Liberal Democrats win a majority of the seats on the new authority.
Party in control Years May 2026–present
Leadership 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.
Councillor Party From To Paul Follows May 2026
Name 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. 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.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9w0y5xkkydo
See also 2024–present structural changes to local government in England East Surrey Council
References
External links West Surrey Shadow Authority meetings Surry Local Government Reorganisation Hub