Surrey County Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Terence Herbert since 19 August 2024[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 81 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years (extended to 6 years due to Unitarisation. |
| Salary | No salary, but an annual taxable basic allowance of £14,160 |
| Elections | |
| First past the post[3] | |
Last election | 6 May 2021[3] |
Next election | County Dissolved 7th May 2026 (West Surrey) 7th May 2026 (East Surrey)[4] |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill,Reigate, RH2 8EF[5][6] | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Surrey County Council is thecounty council for thenon-metropolitan county ofSurrey,England. The council is currently run by aConservative Party minority administration. The council is based inWoodhatch Place,Reigate, and consists of 81 councillors.
Elected county councils were created in 1889 under theLocal Government Act 1888, taking over many administrative functions which had been performed by unelectedmagistrates at thequarter sessions. In Surrey's case, most such functions in the north-east of the county had already passed to theMetropolitan Board of Works, which had been established in 1856 to administer the urban area ofLondon.[7] Under the 1888 Act, the Metropolitan Board of Works' area became the newCounty of London. The then borough ofCroydon lay outside the County of London, but was considered large enough to run county-level services and so it was made acounty borough. Surrey County Council was elected by and provided services to the rest of the county, which area was termed theadministrative county.[8][9]
The first elections to the county council were held in January 1889 and it formally came into being on 1 April 1889. On that day it held its first official meeting at theSessions House inNewington, which had been the meeting place of the Surrey Quarter Sessions since 1791. Co-incidentally, it was also nearWaterloo station, a major hub for the railways serving Surrey. Sessions House was in the area that had transferred from Surrey to the new county of London. The first chairman was Edward Leycester-Penrhyn, who had been chairman of the quarter sessions since 1861.[10][11]
In 1965, theLondon Government Act 1963 abolished the existing county of London and replaced it with the largerGreater London, which took over more territory in the north-east of Surrey, includingRichmond,Kingston-upon-Thames,Wimbledon andSutton. At the same time,Staines andSunbury-on-Thames were transferred to Surrey fromMiddlesex. In 1974, theLocal Government Act 1972 designated Surrey anon-metropolitan county.[12] Prior to the 1974 reforms the lower tier of local government had comprised numerousmunicipal boroughs,urban districts andrural districts; these were reorganised into elevennon-metropolitan districts.[13]
Surrey County Council providescounty-level services.District-level services are provided by the eleven district councils:
Much of the county is also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[14][12]
The county council has been underConservative control for most of the time since 1973. In the2021 election, the Conservatives won a majority, but after two by-elections on 21 August 2025 whereReform UK and theLiberal Democrats won a seat each, the county council is underno overall control.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[15][16]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1993 | |
| No overall control | 1993–1997 | |
| Conservative | 1997–2025 | |
| No overall control | 2025–present[17] | |
Since 1997, the council has formally appointed aleader of the council. Since then, the chairman has been a more ceremonial role, presiding at council meetings and representing the council at civic functions.[18] Prior to 1997, the chair of the main policy committee was sometimes informally referred to as the leader in the media.[19] The leaders since 1997 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Skellett[18][20] | Conservative | 22 May 1997 | Jun 2009 | |
| Andrew Povey[21][22] | Conservative | 23 Jun 2009 | 11 Oct 2011 | |
| David Hodge[23][24] | Conservative | 11 Oct 2011 | 11 Dec 2018 | |
| Tim Oliver[25] | Conservative | 11 Dec 2018 | ||
Following the2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was (41 needed for a majority):
The various residents' associations and three of the four independent councillors sit together as a group.[26]
In February 2025, the government postponed the elections that were due to take place in May 2025 for a year, to allow for alternative local government structures for the area to be considered.[27]
Since the last boundary changes in 2013 the county has been divided into 81electoral divisions, each of which elects onecouncillor. Elections are held every four years. The May 2025 elections were cancelled owing to the impending abolition of Surrey County Council, leaving existing councillors in office without elections for an extra two years.[28]
The council is based atWoodhatch Place inReigate. The main building there was built in 1999 as the headquarters ofCanon (UK) Limited; the complex also includes a large Georgian house. Woodhatch Place was bought by the council in 2020 and converted to become its headquarters including a council chamber and committee rooms.[29] The venue's first full council meeting took place in May 2021.[30]
The council was first headquartered inNewington where the Surrey Quarter Sessions court had been held since 1791.[31] The council moved to a purpose-built headquarters atCounty Hall,Kingston upon Thames in 1893.[32]
Kingston became part ofGreater London in 1965. Despite it no longer being in their administrative area, the council continued to be based at County Hall for another 56 years. In November 2019, Surrey County Council announced it would relocate toWoking.[33] The move to Woking was scrapped in 2020;[34] a move toReigate was announced instead.[35]
The escutcheon is described as 'Per pale Azure and Sable two Keys in bend wards upwards and outwards bows interlaced Or between in dexter base a Woolpack and in sinister chief a Sprig of Oak fructed Argent', with the badge 'On a Roundel per pale Azure and Sable in chief a Sprig of Oak fructed Argent and in base two Keys [in saltire] wards upwards and outwards Or'. These arms were granted in 1974.[36]
 Local authorities in Surrey | |
|---|---|
| County council | |
| District councils | |
| Planned unitary councils | |
