# 2023 Surrey Heath Borough Council election

The 2023 Surrey Heath Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect 32 of 35 members of Surrey Heath Borough Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections. The Liberal Democrats took control of the council from a minority Conservative administration.

## Overview

Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being led by a Conservative minority administration. The election in the Frimley Green ward was postponed until 15 June 2023 following the death of one of the original candidates. Of the seats where elections were held on 5 May, the Liberal Democrats won 21 seats, enough to give them an overall majority on the council for the first time in its history.
The Liberal Democrat group leader before the election, Sashi Mylvaganam, was a candidate in Frimley Green ward and so had to wait until 15 June to see if he would be re-elected. As such, the party chose David Whitcroft instead to be the new leader of the council, being appointed at the subsequent annual meeting of the council on 17 May 2023. The Liberal Democrats won all three seats in the postponed Frimley Green election, with Sashi Mylvaganam returning to the council. The party then reconsidered its leadership, but chose to appoint neither Whitcroft nor Mylvaganam as its leader, appointing instead Shaun Macdonald. He was subsequently confirmed as the new leader of the council on 28 June 2023.

## Results summary

2023 Surrey Heath Borough Council election :
| Party | Candidates | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Liberal Democrats | 31 | 24 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 68.6 | 48.8 | 28,416 | +20.4 |
| Conservative | 35 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 12 | 17.1 | 39.4 | 22,912 | –7.4 |
| Independent | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8.6 | 6.7 | 3,927 | –3.7 |
| Labour | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5.7 | 4.2 | 2,428 | –1.8 |
| Green | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 145 | –4.7 |
| Reform UK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.6 | 372 | N/A |

## Ward results

The results for each ward were:

### Bagshot

Bagshot (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Gordon | 1,061 | 55.1 | +16.7 |
| | Conservative | Valerie White* | 978 | 50.8 | +8.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Wilson | 681 | 35.4 | −16.2 |
| | Conservative | Frank Du Cann | 677 | 35.2 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Cathy Whitcroft | 676 | 35.1 | −9.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Zee Virani | 599 | 31.1 | −8.7 |
| | Independent | Andrew Willgoss | 364 | 18.9 | N/A |
| | Reform UK | Sam Goggin | 202 | 10.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,924 | 34.1 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |

### Bisley and West End

Bisley and West End (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Liz Noble* | 1,312 | 57.5 | +34.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sarbie Kang | 902 | 39.5 | +18.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ying Perrett | 863 | 37.8 | +21.0 |
| | Conservative | Adrian Page* | 753 | 33.0 | −13.6 |
| | Conservative | Tony Henderson | 702 | 30.8 | −12.5 |
| | Conservative | Alex Hanney | 625 | 27.4 | −12.6 |
| | Independent | Graham Alleway* | 598 | 26.2 | −16.3 |
| | Independent | Adrian Keeling | 408 | 17.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,281 | 32.9 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Liberal Democrats gain from Independent |

### Frimley

Frimley (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan Ashbery | 783 | 60.9 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | David O'Mahoney | 722 | 56.1 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Sarah Croke* | 511 | 39.7 | −29.9 |
| | Conservative | Darryl Ratiram* | 397 | 30.9 | −36.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1286 | 34.5 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |

### Frimley Green

Following the death of a candidate in Frimley Green ward (three members) the election was countermanded. A poll took place on the 15th June 2023, with Attieh Fard replacing the late Karen Campion.
Frimley Green (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jacques Olmo | 1,131 | 61.4 | +6.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Whitcroft | 1,111 | 60.3 | +5.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sashi Mylvaganam* | 1,070 | 58.1 | +10.4 |
| | Conservative | Stuart Black | 738 | 42.4 | +10.1 |
| | Conservative | Howard Thomson | 610 | 33.1 | +2.6 |
| | Conservative | Attieh Fard | 608 | 33.0 | +5.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1842 | 35.6 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,174 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |

### Heatherside

Heatherside (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Skipper* | 1,613 | 65.3 | +17.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Louise Ashbery | 1,559 | 63.1 | +10.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bob Raikes | 1,512 | 61.2 | +16.0 |
| | Conservative | Julia Wood | 829 | 33.5 | −5.5 |
| | Conservative | Simon Dickens | 819 | 33.1 | −2.9 |
| | Conservative | Dave Henry | 811 | 32.8 | +0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2471 | 43.1 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |

### Lightwater

Lightwater (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Julie Hoad | 1,184 | 52.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Shaun MacDonald | 1,128 | 49.7 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kevin Thompson | 1,080 | 47.6 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Katia Malcaus Cooper | 966 | 42.6 | +3.3 |
| | Conservative | Rebecca Jennings-Evans* | 943 | 41.5 | −2.6 |
| | Conservative | James Harris | 840 | 37.0 | −1.3 |
| | Reform UK | Peter Appleford | 170 | 7.5 | −7.2 |
| | Labour | Tom Johnson | 144 | 6.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2270 | 42.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Green | Liberal Democrats gain from Green | Liberal Democrats gain from Green | Liberal Democrats gain from Green | Liberal Democrats gain from Green |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Green | Liberal Democrats gain from Green | Liberal Democrats gain from Green | Liberal Democrats gain from Green | Liberal Democrats gain from Green |

### Mytchett and Deepcut

Mytchett and Deepcut (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Whitcroft | 995 | 54.9 | +10.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Morgan Rise* | 961 | 53.0 | +12.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Cliff Betton | 950 | 52.4 | +11.8 |
| | Conservative | Attieh Fard | 752 | 41.5 | −10.4 |
| | Conservative | Lawrence Alexander | 747 | 41.2 | +8.3 |
| | Conservative | David Natolie | 661 | 36.4 | +4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1814 | 32.0 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |

### Old Dean

Old Dean (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Shaun Garrett* | 563 | 58.9 | +10.7 |
| | Conservative | Lewis Mears | 504 | 52.7 | +5.5 |
| | Labour | Heather Gibbs | 393 | 41.1 | −9.1 |
| | Labour | Brian Gibbs | 382 | 40.0 | −0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 957 | 24.8 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour |

### Parkside

Parkside (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rob Lee | 837 | 54.6 | +20.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nirmal Kang | 833 | 54.3 | +28.7 |
| | Conservative | Louise Grainger | 653 | 42.6 | −14.8 |
| | Conservative | Steed Bennett | 642 | 41.9 | −12.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1534 | 39.0 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |

### St Michael's

St Michael's (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jonathan Quin | 684 | 56.5 | +17.6 |
| | Labour | Murray Rowlands | 661 | 54.6 | +15.7 |
| | Conservative | Chris Buxton | 503 | 41.6 | −16.3 |
| | Conservative | Gregory Mwenkentishi | 417 | 34.5 | −18.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1210 | 28.1 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative |

### St Paul's

St Paul's (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jonny Cope | 714 | 48.5 | −19.2 |
| | Conservative | Josh Thorne | 692 | 47.0 | −15.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Browne | 673 | 45.7 | +14.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Matt Hodges-Long | 654 | 44.4 | +16.9 |
| | Labour | Manuela Radeva | 83 | 5.6 | N/A |
| | Labour | George Ridgway | 81 | 5.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1472 | 38.1 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Town

Town (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mary Glauert | 706 | 59.6 | +18.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Leanne MacIntyre | 690 | 58.3 | +22.6 |
| | Conservative | Nathan Drury | 457 | 38.6 | −19.8 |
| | Conservative | Ricky Singh | 414 | 35.0 | −19.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1184 | 29.2 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |

### Watchetts

Watchetts (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lisa Finan-Cooke | 831 | 59.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kel Finan-Cooke | 823 | 58.8 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Caroline Adam-Holboj | 533 | 38.1 | −23.1 |
| | Conservative | Benedict Dias | 511 | 36.5 | −23.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1400 | 34.9 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |

### Windlesham and Chobham

Windlesham and Chobham (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Victoria Wheeler* | 864 | 43.6 | −21.1 |
| | Independent | Pat Tedder* | 790 | 39.9 | −22.3 |
| | Independent | Emma-Jane McGrath* | 611 | 30.8 | −22.1 |
| | Conservative | Justin Cars | 535 | 27.0 | −3.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Amy Moqbel | 534 | 26.9 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jack Massarano | 513 | 25.9 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sara Ibrahim | 490 | 24.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Abu Bakar | 394 | 19.9 | −5.2 |
| | Conservative | Faaris Khan | 352 | 17.8 | −5.0 |
| | Independent | Alison Hook | 292 | 14.7 | −6.3 |
| | Green | Clare Relton | 145 | 7.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1982 | 35.6 | |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold |

## Changes 2023-2027
### By-elections
#### Old Dean

Old Dean by-election: 24 October 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dave Hough | 394 | 44.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Catherine Gibbard | 278 | 31.6 | –27.3 |
| | Reform UK | Sam Goggin | 109 | 12.4 | N/A |
| | Labour | Charlie Wilson | 96 | 10.9 | –30.2 |
| | Independent | Tal Belnik | 4 | 0.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 116 | 13.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 881 | 22.6 | –2.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,894 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative |