What will the general election mean for Surrey?

Voters in Surrey will go to the polls on 4 July after a general election was called

Surrey residents will vote for their MPs on 4 July after Rishi Sunak called a general election.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s South West Surrey constituency will cease to exist and be divided up into others, one of several changes across the county.

He will stand in the new Godalming and Ash constituency.

The county is currently represented by 11 Conservative MPs, and the Liberal Democrats will be targeting several places in Surrey.

Several MPs, including Crispin Blunt, Chris Grayling and Dominic Raab, had previously announced they will not be standing in the forthcoming election.

Surrey Heath MP Michael Gove announced he would not be standing again on 24 May, two days after the election was called.

What are voters saying?

Voters in Mr Hunt’s current constituency have described the PM’s call as a “bold” one for a summer general election.

Resident Will Fletcher-Roberts praised Mr Hunt for his action on helping residents get refunds from Thames Water after issues in the area.

Beth Dodd said: “It was going to happen sooner or later, so let’s just get on with the inevitable.”

She said the local area supported Mr Hunt “quite a lot” and she would be surprised if he didn’t keep his seat.

What do you think are the main local issues in your area? Let us know on by messaging us on WhatsApp.

Here is a rundown of the constituencies:

Dorking and Horley

This new constituency includes a large part of the previous Mole Valley seat, including Dorking, Great Bookham and Fetcham.

Sir Paul Beresford, the current MP for Mole Valley, announced he was stepping down in 2023, having been the constituency MP since 1997.

Sir Paul's majority of 24,137 in 2017 was reduced to 12,041 in 2019 with the Lib Dems in second place each time.

The Lib Dem candidate will be Chris Coghlan, while Surrey County Councillor Marisa Heath will stand for the Conservatives in the new seat.

See the full list of candidates in Dorking and Horley here.

East Surrey

This seat includes Oxted, Godstone and Merstham. It has been held by Conservative Claire Coutinho since December 2019 when she won with a 24,040 majority.

Ms Coutinho has been the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since August 2023.

Since its creation in 1918, East Surrey has elected a Conservative MP, though there have been various boundary changes in that time.

See the full list of candidates in East Surrey here.

Epsom and Ewell

The Epsom and Ewell constituency has been represented by former Transport Secretary Chris Grayling since 2001.

He announced in 2023 he would stand down as an MP following a prostate cancer diagnosis.

The Conservative candidate will be Mhairi Fraser, the local Conservative Association said in January.

Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller, leader of the True & Fair Party, is standing, while the Lib Dems' candidate is Helen Maguire.

See the full list of candidates in Epsom and Ewell here.

Esher and Walton

The current Conservative MP Dominic Raab announced he would not stand again, having represented the constituency since 2010.

His majority dropped to 2,743 in the 2019 general election, down from 23,298 in 2017.

Councillor John Cope, leader of the Conservatives on Elmbridge Borough Council, will be the party's candidate in Esher and Walton for the next general election.

This is a seat the Liberal Democrats have their eye on winning with candidate Monica Harding.

See the full list of candidates in Esher and Walton here.

Farnham and Bordon

This new cross-border parliamentary seat between Surrey and Hampshire includes parts of Farnham, Haslemere, Hindhead, Bordon and Lindford.

The Conservatives, with candidate Greg Stafford, and the Liberal Democrats with Khalil Yousuf will be the main parties targeting the seat.

See the full list of candidates in Farnham and Bordon here.

Godalming and Ash

Partly made up of parts of the South West Surrey constituency, this is another new seat in Surrey.

The area has always been represented by the Conservatives and the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he will stand here as a candidate.

But it is also a target seat for Lib Dem candidate Paul Follows.

See the full list of candidates in Godalming and Ash here.

Guildford

The shape of the Guildford constituency will change significantly, becoming much more concentrated on the town of Guildford.

Angela Richardson was elected to represent Guildford in Parliament in December 2019 and said she will stand again.

The borough council went to Liberal Democrat control in the 2023 elections, and the party will stand candidate Zöe Franklin in Guildford.

See the full list of candidates in Guildford here.

Reigate

Reigate is another constituency that will see a new person elected, regardless of which party wins.

County councillor Rebecca Paul has been chosen to stand for the Conservatives, with current MP Crispin Blunt confirming he would not stand again.

He had the Conservative whip removed following his arrest in October and subsequent release under investigation on suspicion of rape and possession of controlled substances.

Mark Johnston will stand for the Lib Dems and Stuart Brady will stand for Labour in this constituency.

See the full list of candidates in Reigate here.

Surrey Heath

Michael Gove is the current MP in this constituency, which will mostly stay the same though some parts will go to the new Godalming and Ash seat.

Surrey Heath has been held by the Conservatives since it was created in 1997 but the Liberal Democrats are targeting it with candidate Alasdair Pinkerton.

On 24 May Mr Gove announced he would be standing down as an MP.

See the full list of candidates in Surrey Heath here.

Runnymede and Weybridge

The biggest change here is the Surrey areas of Virginia Water and Englefield Green being removed and becoming part of the Windsor seat in Berkshire.

The new constituency will include Cobham and Oxshott.

Runnymede Borough Council is now run by an alliance with four co-leaders representing independent, Labour, Green and Lib Dem councillors.

The current Conservative MP is Ben Spencer, elected to the seat in December 2019. Ellen Nicholson is the Liberal Democrat candidate and Labour's is Robert King.

See the full list of candidates in Runnymede and Weybridge here.

Spelthorne

There are no changes to the Spelthorne constituency boundaries but the current MP, former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, announced he will not stand again.

Mr Kwarteng became the UK's first black Conservative cabinet minister in 2021, and has been the MP for Spelthorne since 2010.

See the full list of candidates in Spelthorne here.

Woking

In May’s local elections, the four remaining Conservative candidates in Woking lost their seats. Consequently, this is a seat that the Liberal Democrats will be targeting, but Labour have also done well in the town in recent elections.

The council effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023 with debts of £2bn.

Current MP, Jonathan Lord, was first elected in 2010.

The Lib Dem candidate is Will Forster, who sits as a borough and a county councillor.

See the full list of candidates in Woking here.