Brief background to the May 7th 2026 West Surrey Local Elections by Neil Lock
On May 7th, you will be able to vote for councillors to form a new local council called West Surrey Unitary Authority. Who gets elected will have repercussions. On your local services, your roads, your freedom to drive, your green spaces and your council tax bill.
If you have found this page, and you are not already a Reform UK member or supporter, I say to you, welcome. If you feel you want to join or to donate to Reform UK, you can do so via our donations page here: https://donate.reformparty.uk/godalming-ash.
Context
• West Surrey is a newly created council.
• The councillors you elect on May 7th will not take on their powers until April 2027.
• Until then, the current councillors will continue to run Surrey County Council (SCC) and the borough councils.
• West Surrey will begin life with a huge debt, estimated at around £8,000 per elector.
• The number of councillors in Surrey will be reduced from more than 450 in SCC and the boroughs to just 162. Of these, 90 will be from West Surrey.
The facts
The Tories, since 2021, have managed Surrey County Council in a way that does not represent the interests of people in the more rural parts of Surrey. Particularly in transport policy, where they have been consistently hostile to drivers of private cars and vans.
Without a very significant Reform UK presence in the new West Surrey unitary authority, the erosion of the freedoms of the people of Surrey will inevitably continue.
The vision that Tories, Labour, Lib Dems and Greens all have for Surrey’s future is a “woke” and green one. They see “environmental responsibilities” and “equality, diversity and inclusion” as more important than serving the people of Surrey.
The local government changes, that have brought West Surrey into existence, are touted as devolution, but they are not. Labour are seeking to centralize power into mega-councils. And the Tories have eagerly co-operated with the Labour plans.
The huge debt that West Surrey will inherit is the result of Tory councils, particularly in Woking, making unwise investments. It is unjust that people in Waverley and Guildford should be expected to pay off other councils’ debts.
There is a longer-term plan for a “Mayor of Surrey,” with wide and sweeping powers. This is likely to result, as it has in London, in top-down control and zero concern for the needs and desires of local residents.
House building targets have been set, which amount to an increase in the population of more than 50% in Waverley borough and 30% in Guildford borough over the 20 years to 2043.
All this is likely to lead to:
• Less local representation.
• Increasing pressure on roads and council services.
• Increasing pressure to build on green belt land, and to sell off green spaces for building.
• Ongoing council tax increases.
Why vote Reform UK?
Reform UK will be prudent and responsible with how we use your money. Reform-run councils have already saved £325 million in council spending in 2025/6.
Reform UK are the only party who are against net zero, and against anti-car policies such as blanket 20mph speed limits, chicanes and speed bumps (many of them broken). Reform will stand up for the rights of safe drivers to get around West Surrey unimpeded.
We have so many road works and road closures at the moment, that it’s often really difficult to get from A to B. Reform UK will push for highway contractors to co-ordinate and expedite their works better.
Our streets are riddled with potholes, that keep on coming back because repairs are done on the cheap. Reform UK will demand higher standards, and push for getting the job done right the first time.
Labour, like the Tories before them, want to cram more and more people into our part of Surrey. Reform UK will push back against unrealistic house-building targets.
If you care about the people of Surrey rather than about woke and green policies, Reform UK is your only voting option on May 7th. Even if – particularly if – you have never voted in a local election before, or the last time you did was many years ago.
Want more detail?
If you would like more detail on the situation we find ourselves in with regard to local government, and how it came about, please visit If you would like more detail on the situation we find ourselves in with regard to local government, and how it came about, please visit https://reformpartygodalmingash.uk/more-detail-on-the-may-7th-2026-west-surrey-local-elections-by-neil-lock.
Neil Lock is campaign manager for Reform UK Godalming and Ash branch.
Image credit on main page: Unsplash