Surrey County Council by-election in Nork & Tattenhams

By Chris Caulfield, Local Democracy Reporter, 30 April 2025

Local elections in Surrey were controversially cancelled this year as part of merger and reorganisation plans – but some voters will still be going to the polls on Thursday, 1 May.

The elections were called off after Surrey County Council argued they would be a costly and pointless exercise given the government’s eagerness to reshape local government.

It means most of Surrey will be staying at home rather than casting a ballot with the exception of residents in Nork and Tattenhams, after the long-time residents association leader Councillor Nick Harrison triggered a by-election when he decided to stand down.

Cllr Harrison was first elected on to Surrey County Council in 2005 and now, 20 years later, has decided to call time and hand the reins to someone else having “achieved what he wanted to achieve:”

He said: “I’m standing down after 20 years, I had already agreed to give someone else the chance. When the elections were cancelled, I decided I should stick to my word.”

He said it would also give the new councillor the opportunity to get up to speed with the role and potentially continue under the new merged unitary authority.

Cllr Harrison added: “I’ve done this for a number of years now and the feeling was that it’s time to pass on the baton.”

The Nork and Tattenhams seat was last contested in 2021 when Cllr Harrison was re-elected with 2,763 votes for a  64 per cent share.

The Nork and Tattenhams Residents’ Association was followed by Ohis Ilalokhoin of the Conservative Party with 908 votes.

Surrey County Council is controlled by the Conservative Party with 44 councillors.

The Liberal Democrats, with 16 councillors, are the largest party in the opposition block, followed by  15 Residents’ Association/Independents, two Labour, two Green,  and one non-aligned independent.

The candidates running in Nork and Tattenhams by-election are:

• Elizabeth Cooper, Reform UK

• Pamela Freeman, Conservative Party

• Peter Harp, Nork and Tattenhams Residents` Associations 

• Alistair Morten, Green Party,

• Mike Robinson, Liberal Democrats

• Esme Wright, Labour Party

Information about the by-election, including official notices, can be found here (Opens in a new window).

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