Elections to the new West Surrey Council
On Thursday 7 May 2026 elections for the new West Surrey Shadow Unitary Authority will be held. Registered local government electors will be able to vote for two candidates in each electoral ward.
Those elected will go on to form the new Unitary Authority (West Surrey Council). The new council will replace the Surrey County Council and the Boroughs of Waverley, Guildford, Woking, Surrey Heath, Runnymede and Spelthorne. These County and Borough councils will cease to exist on 1 April 2027.
Based upon new county electoral divisions confirmed in 2024, there are ten electoral wards in the Guildford Borough area. They are; Ash, Guildford East, Guildford North, Guildford South East, Guildford South West, Guildford West, Horsleys, Shalford, Shere, and Worplesdon. For electoral areas/boundaries, please visit LGBCE Interactive Map (opens new window).
Candidate Nominations
Eligible persons who wish to be candidates at these elections must deliver duly completed nomination papers to the Deputy Returning Officer on any working day from Tuesday 24 March 2026, and by no later than the deadline of 4pm on Thursday 9 April 2026.
Please see / download the Candidate Nomination Pack:
Candidate Nomination Pack: West Surrey Council (PDF, 311 KB)
Prospective candidates are asked to please make an appointment to attend the GBC Council Office in-person to submit completed nomination papers. To arrange this please contact Electoral Services directly by phone on 01483 444107 or via email: electoralservices@guildford.gov.uk
Ahead of your in-person appointment to submit your hard copy papers formally, to ensure all goes smoothly, we encourage you to seek an informal check of your papers several days in advance. You can do this by email to Electoral Services via the email address shown above. We will check them and reply to you as soon as possible.
Confirmed candidate details for each ward will be published here on Friday 10 April 2026.
Election Timetable
The key dates for voters and election participants to note, are as follows:
| Event | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Candidate nominations open | Tuesday 24 March 2026 |
| Poll cards dispatched to electors via Royal Mail (2nd class post) | Wednesday 25 March 2026 |
| Candidate nominations close | 4pm on Thursday 9 April 2026 |
Main issue of postal vote packs (1st class post) to those who have successfully applied to vote by post | Thursday 16 April 2026 |
Application deadline to register to vote (for those not already registered) | 11.59pm on Monday 20 April 2026 |
| Application deadline for postal voting or to amend an existing arrangement | 5pm on Tuesday 21 April 2026 |
Final issue of late postal vote packs (1st class post) | Friday 24 April 2026 |
| Application deadlines for proxy voting or for a voter authority certificate | 5pm on Tuesday 28 April 2026 |
| Polling Day | Thursday 7 May 2026 |
| Results declared | Late afternoon on Friday 8 May 2026 |