No promises Surrey will get mayor for new councils

Surrey County Council's website outlining the local government reorganisation mentions the word "mayor" seven times

No promises have been made that Surrey will get full devolution and a directly elected mayor amid local government reorganisation, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) says.

This is despite a county councillor saying it was the "entire purpose" of the process of splitting the county and its 11 boroughs and districts into two large councils.

The secretary of state for housing, communities and local government said he would create two new unitary councils – East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council – subject to parliamentary approval.

The ministry later clarified that its announcement was "not promising a mayor".

It had been understood that Surrey's councils would be abolished and reformed into either two or three unitary authorities with two sets of elections, one for the new councils and another for an overarching mayor in 2027.

Surrey County Council's (SCC) website outlining the devolution and local government reorganisation process mentions the word "mayor" seven times, and lists May 2027 as when residents would go to the polls to decide who would be responsible for strategic services such as education, policing, and fire and rescue.

However, the government's own timetable for Surrey only lists a May 2026 election for the two councils, followed by the next round of balloting in May 2031 and then every four years after that.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government also said references to Surrey getting a directly elected mayor were "not quite accurate" as the decision had "not been confirmed" and that they were only "committed to working with partners to establish a strategic authority for the area".

'The entire purpose'

Areas with strategic mayors, such as London and Manchester, are given extra devolved powers from government.

Writing to the leaders of Surrey's councils, the ministry said it was committed to working with partners across Surrey, including the new unitary authorities, to establish a strategic authority to ensure relevant functions held at the county level could continue.

Paul Follows, leader of the Liberal Democrat group at SCC, said having a mayor "was the entire purpose of the reorganisation".

"The county council has gone in on this nonsense without any guarantee over the reason they have it, despite that being the principal reason the county has initiated this process – but they have yet to receive any guarantees," he added.

SCC said that "devolution remains the ambition".