When to Expect Guildford Borough Council Election Results

Published on: 5 May, 2023
Updated on: 4 May, 2023

By Chris Caulfield

local democracy reporter

Polls across Guildford closed at 10pm last night with the ballot boxes being brought to the count at Spectrum Leisure Centre for verification today, May 5.

Election officers expect this to take place from about 9.30am before counting begins in earnest and a winner declared.

Guildford elects its councillors on a four-yearly cycle with the last round taking place in 2019.

Going into the polls, the council was run by a Liberal Democrat and Residents for Guildford and Villages (R4GV) coalition.

The GBC election count in 2019.

Overall the council, at the end of the four years, was composed of 17 Lib Dems, 14 R4GV, eight Conservatives, four Guildford Greenbelt Group, two Labour, two Independents, and one Green Party councillor.

The count will begin with four tables counting the borough’s eight three-seat wards, three tables counting the 11 two-seat wards, and one table for the two one-seat wards.

Wards will be counted in reverse alphabetical order and be declared when they are ready by the Guildford Returning Officer, Tom Horwood.

In the last local election, turnout for the borough was 38.88 per cent. Coming into the May 4 poll there were 103,005 people registered to vote with about 23,000 postal packs issued of which 11,550 had been returned by Friday, April 28.