# Woking Borough Council

Woking Borough Council is the local authority for Woking in Surrey, England. The council consists of 30 councillors, three for each of the 10 wards in the town. It is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats, led by Ann-Marie Barker. The borough council is based at Woking Civic Offices.

## History

The parish of Woking was made a local government district in 1893, governed by a local board. Such districts became urban districts in December 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894, and so the local board was replaced by Woking Urban District Council. The urban district was significantly enlarged in 1907 when it absorbed Horsell parish and again in 1933 when it absorbed Byfleet and Pyrford parishes.
The first woman elected to the council was Elizabeth Balfour in 1919.
On 1 April 1974, the urban district became a non-metropolitan district, altering its powers and responsibilities, although keeping the same area. The reformed district was also awarded borough status at the same time, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, with the council thereafter being called Woking Borough Council.
In May 2023, a government review revealed that the council would have debts of £2.4 billion by 2026, 100 times the size of its annual £24 million budget, largely attributed to unsuccessful investments in two skyscrapers, one residential and one a hotel, as well as smaller deals including a £6.4 million loan to a local private school and £2m spent on acquiring pubs. The deals were financed partly with £1.3bn low interest borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board. Risky property deals, also carried out by other local authorities such as Thurrock, Croydon, and Slough over the previous 5 years, were attempts to offset the impact of UK Government funding cuts. Nonetheless the review advised the council to borrow an additional £300m to avoid a fire-sale of assets. The Minister for Local Government, Lee Rowley, announced in May 2023 that the council was to be overseen by a team of expert commissioners until the council could "address their commercial and financial challenges, and make transformative change across its entire operations."
On 7 June 2023, Woking Borough Council issued a Section 114 notice after forecasting a deficit of £1.2 billion for the year ending 31 March 2024 due to losses on risky investments involving hotels and skyscrapers instigated by a former Conservative administration.

## Governance

Woking Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council. There are no civil parishes in the borough, which is an unparished area.

### Political control

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2022.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:
| Party in control | Years |
| Conservative | 1974–1986 |
| No overall control | 1986–1992 |
| Conservative | 1992–1994 |
| No overall control | 1994–1996 |
| Liberal Democrats | 1996–1998 |
| No overall control | 1998–2007 |
| Conservative | 2007–2009 |
| No overall control | 2009–2011 |
| Conservative | 2011–2019 |
| No overall control | 2019–2022 |
| Liberal Democrats | 2022–present |

### Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Woking. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2006 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Sue Smith | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2006 | May 2007 |
| Anne Murray | Conservative | May 2007 | 10 Jul 2008 |
| John Kingsbury | Conservative | 10 Jul 2008 | 2017 |
| David Bittleston | Conservative | 22 May 2017 | 15 Oct 2020 |
| Ayesha Azad | Conservative | 15 Oct 2020 | May 2022 |
| Ann-Marie Barker | Liberal Democrats | 23 May 2022 | |

### Composition

Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Liberal Democrats | 24 |
| | Independent | 5 |
| | Labour | 1 |
| Total | Total | 30 |
The next election is due in 2026.

## Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2016 the council has comprised 30 councillors representing 10 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. Surrey County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.

## Premises

The council is based at the Civic Offices on Gloucester Square. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1983.