Inaugural West Surrey Shadow Council Meeting About To Be Held

Published on: 20 May, 2026
Updated on: 21 May, 2026

By Chris Caulfield

local democracy reporter

The new West Surrey Shadow Council will meet for the first time today (May 21), giving voters and early look at how the new authorities could be run.

The new East Surrey Council met yesterday.

The two councils were elected following the May 7 polls that saw the Liberal Democrats come out top in both elections.

In April 2027 the new councils will formally replace the old outgoing two-tier system of boroughs and counties – but until then, they will sit in shadow.

Cllr Paul Follows after his election as Lib Dem Group leader with Zöe Franklin MP.

It is expected that Cllr Paul Follows will be voted as the new leader of West Surrey Council after being selected Lib Dem group leader, while the honour in East Surrey goes to Cllr Steve Wotton.

One of the early fears over the scale of the new unitaries was that it could strip residents of meaningful power, “due to its democratic distance and disconnection of residents from the levers of power”.

A report by those who favoured creating three new councils rather than the two mega authorities read: “To be clear, the decision between two or three unitary authorities is far more than one of mere administrative convenience or numbers on a spreadsheet.

“It represents a choice between a system of local government that actively fosters and encourages community empowerment, local decision making and strong place leadership, and one that while certainly aspiring to it, will lack the institutional and strategic clarity to drive growth and embrace truly local decision making.

“A two unitary authority model, lacking alignment with Surrey’s functional economic areas, places and identities, will embed economic incoherence and conflicting growth incentives, and cannot meaningfully empower local people due to its democratic distance and disconnection of residents from the levers of power.”

Millmead council chamber, normally set out for 48 GBC councillors, will have to accommodate 90 councillors for West Surrey Council meetings.

The new councils have put in place measures that could help remedy part of this issue. Their answer; spread committees and hearings across the old borough locations.

In West Surrey, the full council will meet at what are currently the Guildford Borough Council offices in Millmead, Guildford.

These will take place every two months for the remainder of 2026 before ramping up to monthly when the calendar turns.

The council’s Executive, nominees yet to be announced, the main decision-making body comprising the leadership team that oversees each department, will begin meeting monthly at Woking ’s current offices.

The other main committee’s audit and governance standards, employment will meet at Waverley, Spelthorne and Surrey Heath respectively. These will likely be chaired by members of the ruling group.

Cllr Jane Austin

The key overview and scrutiny committee, expected to be chaired by the leader of the opposition, Cllr Jane Austin, will be held at Runnymede’s civic centre in Addlestone.

Overview and scrutiny’s role is to hold the decision-makers to account and is considered a crucial function.

The spread means each of the constituent West Surrey councils will host meetings.

Planning will continue to be held locally at the existing boroughs and districts – and at county hall – until those bodies are wound up.

SCCs council offices where East Surrey’s council meeting will be held.

East Surrey will also have its main meeting spread across its existing five councils – although it is planned to hold full meetings at Surrey County Council ’s existing headquarters in Reigate.

The Executive committee will be held at the current Elmbridge Borough Council offices in Esher – how long is uncertain as the outgoing council has been considering selling the site for housing.

Cllr Steve Wotton expected to be elected leader of East Surrey Council

Audit and governance, standards, and employment will be held at Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, and Tandridge respectively.

East Surrey’s overview and scrutiny committee, likely to be chaired by the Conservative group leader, Cllr David Lewis, will be held at the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council offices.

Final say on the locations and dates will be put to a vote and decided at this week’s meetings.

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