Have your say: Should Surrey’s 2025 local elections be postponed due to devolution plans?

Proposals by the leader of Surrey County Council to delay the county’s local elections have proved divisive. At the start of the year, Councillor Tim Oliver announced he planned to formally ask the government to postpone county elections until May 2026.

It comes after December’s announcement from the Government – outlining its vision to merge councils in Surrey and get rid of its 11 boroughs and districts. There would also be a directly elected mayor. The Government has suggested it could pass new laws to postpone the May 2025 elections to help councils manage the restructure opportunity.

Cllr Oliver said the delay to elections would give the councils time to “put together proposals for local government reform necessary to unlock further devolution for Surrey”. However, not everyone is in agreement. Surrey Heath Borough Council is set to discuss a motion rejecting the county council leader’s proposals and allow the May 2025 polls to go ahead “in the interest of democracy and hearing the resident’s voice”.

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At a meeting to discuss the matter, Councillor Paul Follows, leader of the opposition, said the boroughs and districts made it very clear local government reform was necessary – but that it could be done alongside the democratic process.

Cllr Oliver says that Surrey will change ‘no matter whether we like it or not’, he explained: “It’s going to happen. It’s better that we try to control or have some influence over what happens rather than have it imposed on us down the line.

“The primary focus should be ‘what is in the best interests of the residents of Surrey?’ Whether we like the model or not it is going to happen in Surrey and the reason for getting in early as we are, is that we are slightly unique here in that there are councils in Surrey that have significant debt levels.”

Councils such as Woking are bankrupt and need Government intervention. Similarly, though not bankrupt, Spelthorne Borough Council has debts of more than a billion and Runnymede has debts of more than £600m. Surrey County Council, albeit with significantly larger spending power as a top tier authority, is also heavily indebted.

Timetable for Devolution:

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