Waverley Borough Council

Last updated
Waverley Borough Council
Type
Type
Leadership
John Ward,
Farnham Residents
since 21 May 2024 [1]
Paul Follows,
Liberal Democrat
since 27 April 2021
Pedro Wrobel
since 8 April 2024
Structure
Seats50 councillors
Political groups
Administration (38)
  Liberal Democrats (22)
  Farnham Residents (13)
  Labour (2)
  Green (1)
Other parties (12)
  Conservative (10)
  Independent (2)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
The Burys.jpg
Council Offices, The Burys, Godalming, GU7 1HR
Website
www.waverley.gov.uk

Waverley Borough Council is the district council for the Borough of Waverley, Surrey, England. It provides district-level services, while county-level services are provided by Surrey County Council. The whole borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. [2]

Contents

The council has shared a chief executive with neighbouring Guildford Borough Council since 2017. [3] [4]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2019, being run by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Farnham Residents, Labour and Greens. The same coalition continues to run the council following the 2023 election.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [5]

Party in controlYears
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1991
No overall control 1991–1995
Liberal Democrats 1995–1999
Conservative 1999–2003
Liberal Democrats 2003–2004
No overall control 2004–2007
Conservative 2007–2019
No overall control 2019–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Waverley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been: [6]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Chris Slyfield Liberal Democrats 20032005
Gillian Ferguson Liberal Democrats 2005May 2007
Richard Gates Conservative May 200711 May 2010
Robert Knowles Conservative 11 May 201010 May 2016
Julia Potts Conservative 10 May 201621 May 2019
John Ward Farnham Residents 21 May 201927 Apr 2021
Paul Follows Liberal Democrats 27 Apr 2021

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was: [7]

PartyCouncillors
Liberal Democrats 22
Farnham Residents 13
Conservative 10
Labour 2
Independent 2
Green 1
Total50

The Labour and Green councillors sit together as a group. [8] The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 50 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. [9]

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References

  1. "John Ward elected as Mayor". Waverley Borough Council. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  2. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  3. Coady Stemp, Emily (1 November 2021). "New £150,000 joint chief executive set to be appointed to lead Waverley and Guildford councils". Farnham Herald. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  4. Coady-Stemp, Emily; Caulfield, Chris (22 December 2023). "Guildford Borough Council appoints new chief executive". BBC News. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  5. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  6. "Council minutes". Waverley Borough Council. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  7. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  8. "Your councillors by political grouping". Waverley Borough Council. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  9. "The Waverley (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2022/1136, retrieved 5 July 2023