# 2024 Runnymede Borough Council election

The 2024 Runnymede Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2024 to elect one-third of members of the Runnymede Borough Council in Surrey, England. This was on the same day as other local elections in England and police and crime commissioner elections.
The election saw the Conservatives lose all but three of the ten seats they were defending. Notable losses include Chertsey St. Ann's, where the incumbent council deputy leader lost his seat to Labour, and New Haw where the Liberal Democrats saw the largest majority in the borough, gaining from the Conservatives.
Following the resignation of the Conservative Party Councillor Max Darby, who represented the Ward of Woodham and Rowtown, there was a by-election to fill the vacancy held on the same day.
Former Egham Hythe Councillor, Alex Balkan, had to withdraw his nomination at the election for the Conservative Party and was replaced by Tanya Solomon who stood for the Conservative Party unsuccessfully in Englefield Green West Ward in 2022 and 2023.
The council remained under no overall control. Following the election a coalition of Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Runnymede Independent Residents' Group, the Green Party and three of the independent councillors formed to run the council, calling themselves the Runnymede Council Alliance group. At the subsequent annual council meeting on 15 May 2024 the four party leaders within the alliance were jointly appointed as co-leaders of the council.

## Results

2024 Runnymede Borough Council election :
| Party | Party | This election | This election | This election | Full council | Full council | Full council | This election | This election | This election |
| Party | Party | Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− |
| | Labour Co-op | 4 | 4 | 28.6 | 4 | 8 | 19.5 | 4,298 | 21.7 | +0.0% |
| | Conservative | 3 | 7 | 21.4 | 10 | 13 | 31.7 | 7,173 | 36.3 | −0.6% |
| | Liberal Democrats | 3 | 2 | 21.4 | 3 | 6 | 14.6 | 3,962 | 20.0 | +0.8% |
| | RIRG | 2 | 0 | 14.3 | 4 | 6 | 14.6 | 1,400 | 7.1 | −1.4% |
| | Green | 1 | 1 | 7.1 | 2 | 3 | 7.3 | 1,438 | 7.3 | +0.8% |
| | Independent | 1 | 0 | 7.1 | 4 | 5 | 12.2 | 1,166 | 5.9 | −0.4% |
| | Reform UK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 252 | 1.3 | +0.9% |
| | Heritage | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 0.5 | +0.4% |

## Ward Candidates
### Addlestone North

Addlestone North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Green | Priya Mehta | 496 | 40.0 | +0.3 |
| | Conservative | Tommy Traylen | 321 | 25.8 | −11.7 |
| | Labour Co-op | June Tilbury | 188 | 15.1 | −1.5 |
| | Reform UK | Stewart Mackay | 151 | 12.1 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stuart Lawrence | 89 | 7.1 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 175 | 14.1 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 7 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1245 | 28.2 | −3.3 |
| | Green gain from Conservative | Green gain from Conservative | Swing | +6.0 | |

### Addlestone South

Addlestone South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Furey | 605 | 42.0 | +0.3 |
| | Labour Co-op | Elaine Percival | 596 | 41.4 | +5.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Theresa Burton | 240 | 16.7 | +4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9 | 0.6 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 27 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1441 | 30.0 | −0.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.4 | |

### Chertsey Riverside

Chertsey Riverside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Cai Parry | 653 | 45.9 | +7.4 |
| | Conservative | John Osborn | 538 | 37.8 | −4.1 |
| | Green | Elaine Brindley | 122 | 8.6 | +0.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Liam Elvish | 110 | 7.7 | −4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 115 | 8.1 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 12 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1423 | 31.2 | +1.2 |
| | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.8 | |

### Chertsey St. Ann's

Chertsey St. Ann's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Mark Williams | 654 | 47.2 | +10.7 |
| | Conservative | Myles Willingale | 480 | 34.7 | −10.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Annabel Jones | 150 | 10.8 | −0.8 |
| | Green | Vicky Flynn | 101 | 7.3 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 174 | 12.6 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 19 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1385 | 29.5 | −0.6 |
| | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Swing | +10.6 | |

### Egham Hythe

Egham Hythe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Ricky Milstead | 758 | 53.8 | +4.0 |
| | Conservative | Tanya Solomon | 624 | 44.3 | +2.8 |
| | Independent | Deshveen Mangat | 117 | 8.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 134 | 9.5 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 11 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1410 | 29.0 | −1.8 |
| | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Swing | +0.6 | |

### Egham Town

Egham Town :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | RIRG | Geeta Moudgil | 735 | 50.6 | −14.0 |
| | Conservative | Mark Adams | 303 | 20.9 | +6.1 |
| | Labour | Jocelyn Boxall | 251 | 17.3 | +1.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian Heath | 112 | 7.7 | +2.0 |
| | Green | Timothy Hayes | 52 | 3.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 432 | 29.7 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 3 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1453 | 31.6 | −1.2 |
| | RIRG hold | RIRG hold | Swing | −10.1 | |

### Englefield Green West

Englefield Green West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Paul Gahir | 370 | 32.9 | −21.0 |
| | Conservative | Wendy Locker | 332 | 29.5 | −16.6 |
| | Independent | Amanda Willis | 322 | 28.6 | New |
| | Reform UK | Bob Bromley | 101 | 9.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 38 | 3.4 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 4 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1125 | 30.4 | +0.4 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | −2.2 | |

### Longcross, Lyne and Chertsey South

Longcross, Lyne and Chertsey South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kevin Lee | 645 | 70.0 | −3.2 |
| | Conservative | Steve Vise | 276 | 30.0 | +3.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 369 | 40.0 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 21 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 921 | 31.6 | −2.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | −3.2 | |

### New Haw

New Haw :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ken Graham | 1,223 | 72.7 | +8.0 |
| | Conservative | Howard Freeman | 347 | 20.6 | −10.0 |
| | Green | Martin Robson | 85 | 5.1 | +1.2 |
| | Heritage | Gian Palermiti | 28 | 1.7 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 876 | 52.0 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 16 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1683 | 35.6 | −1.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.0 | |

### Ottershaw

Ottershaw :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Carl Mann | 727 | 46.1 | +0.7 |
| | Conservative | George Callaghan | 384 | 24.4 | −1.8 |
| | Labour Co-op | Anne Emerson-Miller | 274 | 17.4 | +4.3 |
| | Green | Peter Chiverton | 99 | 6.3 | −0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Charlton | 92 | 5.8 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 343 | 21.8 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 10 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1576 | 32.4 | −1.6 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | +1.3 | |

### Thorpe

Thorpe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | RIRG | Margaret Harnden | 665 | 47.4 | −6.1 |
| | Conservative | Roberto Bueno | 491 | 35.0 | +6.4 |
| | Labour Co-op | Benjamin Niblett | 189 | 13.5 | +0.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Cheryl Smith-Wright | 58 | 4.1 | −1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 174 | 12.4 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 4 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1403 | 33.3 | |
| | RIRG hold | RIRG hold | Swing | −6.3 | |

### Virginia Water

Virginia Water :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Karin Rowsell | 808 | 50.8 | +11.9 |
| | Conservative | Lewis Virgo | 699 | 43.9 | −3.6 |
| | Green | Maciej Pawlik | 84 | 5.3 | +2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 109 | 6.7 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 18 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1591 | 37.4 | −1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.8 | |

### Woodham and Rowtown (2 seats)

Two seats are up for election due to the resignation of Councillor Max Darby, elected in 2022.
Woodham and Rowtown :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Scott Lewis | 919 | 45.1 | −10.4 |
| | Conservative | Pippa Tucker-Brown | 854 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Coulon | 435 | 21.3 | +0.9 |
| | Labour Co-op | Harry Hurst | 365 | 17.9 | +3.0 |
| | Green | Deborah Hepburn | 253 | 12.4 | +3.2 |
| | Green | Richard Miller | 146 | | |
| | Heritage | Rachel Bear | 67 | 3.3 | New |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 5 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1664 | 34.3 | −0.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −5.7 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

## Committee Chairs Following Election

| Party key | Conservative |
| Party key | Green |
| Party key | Labour |
| Party key | Liberal Democrat |
| Party key | RIRG |
Chairs of Committees :
| Committee | Councillor | Term |
| The Worshipful Mayor of Runnymede | Cllr Elaine Gill | 2024-25 |
| Co-leader of the Council Chair of Corporate Management Committee | Cllr Robert King | 2024- |
| Co-leader of the Council Chair of Environment & Sustainability Committee | Cllr Don Whyte | 2024- |
| Chair of Housing Committee | Cllr Mike Smith | 2024- |
| Chair of Community Services Committee | Cllr Abby King | 2024- |
| Chair of Planning Committee | Cllr Sylvia Whyte | 2024- |
| Chair of Licensing Committee | Cllr Eliza Kettle | 2024- |
| Deputy Mayor Chair of Regulatory Committee | Cllr Margaret Harnden | 2024- |
| Chair of Standards & Audit Committee | Cllr Sam Jenkins | 2024-25 |
| Chair of Standards & Audit Committee | Cllr Manu Singh | 2025- |
| Chair of Englefield Green Committee | Cllr Paul Gahir | 2024- |
| Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Select Committee Chair of Crime & Disorder Committee | Cllr Shannon Saise-Marshall | 2024- |
| Co-leaders not chairs of committees ||||
| Co-leader of the Council Vice-Chair of Corporate Management Committee | Cllr Linda Gillham | 2024- |
| Co-leader of the Council Vice-Chair of Environment & Sustainability Committee | Cllr Steve Ringham | 2024- |

## By-elections
### Addlestone South, 10 October 2024

A by-election took place on 10 October 2024 for Addlestone South ward following the death of Councillor Jonathan Wilson.
Stewart Mackay, a Reform UK candidate, announced his intention to stand in the by-election, however, he had failed to submit his nomination papers following allegations of promoting far-right content and transphobic conspiracy theories on X.
Addlestone South by-election, 10 October 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Steve Eldridge | 520 | 55.9 | +13.9 |
| | Labour Co-op | Elaine Percival | 262 | 28.2 | −13.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jenny Coulon | 85 | 9.1 | −7.6 |
| | Green | Jess Ward | 63 | 6.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 258 | 27.7 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 8 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 930 | 19.0 | −11.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +13.6 | |

### Ottershaw, 12 December 2024

A by-election will take place in Ottershaw on the 12th of December 2024 following the death of Councillor Malcolm Cressey.
Ottershaw by-election, 12 December 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Robert Day | 440 | 41.6 | −4.5 |
| | Conservative | Mike Kusneraitis | 221 | 20.9 | −3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ronan McCaughey | 190 | 18.0 | +12.2 |
| | Reform UK | Mayuran Senthilnathan | 113 | 10.7 | New |
| | Labour Co-op | Anne Emerson-Miller | 52 | 4.9 | −12.5 |
| | Green | Peter Chiverton | 42 | 4.0 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 219 | 20.7 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 1 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1058 | 21.5 | −10.9 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | -0.5 | |

## Progression of administration majority and party totals

| Date | Event | Working majority | Lab | LD | RIRG | Grn | Admin. Ind. | Con | Opp. Ind. | Vacant |
| 6 May 2024 | Election | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 August 2024 | Wilson (Con) dies | 10 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| 30 September 2024 | MC Cressey (Ind) dies | 11 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 October 2024 | Eldridge (Con) elected in Addlestone South | 10 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 1 |
| 12 December 2024 | Day (Ind) elected in Ottershaw | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 February 2025 | Jenkins expelled from RIRG | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| 23 February 2025 | Jenkins (Ind) joins the Conservatives | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 0 |