Surrey gets new parliamentary constituencies ahead of election

Surrey residents may find themselves voting in new constituencies at the next general election, due to changes to the parliamentary boundaries.

The Boundary Commission for England has rebalanced the number of people each MP represents.

It means some in Surrey will live in a completely different constituency to when they voted in 2019.

We take a look at some of the key changes before they are introduced for the election expected in 2024.

This is a new cross-border parliamentary seat between Surrey and Hampshire, including parts of Farnham, Haslemere, Hindhead, Bordon and Lindford.

It has been a controversial change, with officials admitting people were opposed to the idea of splitting a constituency across county boundaries.

The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats will be the main parties targeting the seat.

Another new seat in Surrey which, like Farnham and Bordon, is partly made up of bits of the South West Surrey constituency, which is disappearing entirely.

It will also include Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham.

The area has always been represented by the Conservatives and the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says he will stand here as a candidate. But it is also a target seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Michael Gove is the current MP in this constituency, which will mostly stay the same, although it will no longer have Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham, which are going to the new Godalming & Ash seat.

But it will now include the areas of Normandy and Pirbright.

Surrey Heath has been held by the Conservatives since it was created in 1997 but the Liberal Democrats are targeting it, after taking control of Surrey Heath Borough Council in the 2023 local elections.

The biggest change here is the Surrey areas of Virginia Water and Englefield Green being removed and becoming part of the Windsor seat in Berkshire.

There had been a plan to rename the seat 'Weybridge and Chertsey', but that was scrapped.

Although Runnymede Borough Council is now in no overall control after the 2023 local elections, the Conservatives are still the largest party and will be expecting to keep the seat after the next election.

The shape of the Guildford constituency will change significantly, becoming much more concentrated on the town of Guildford.

It will lose the villages to the south, instead extending north east into the old Mole Valley seat.

That means places like Cranleigh and Alford will no longer have a Guildford MP, while Wisley and West Horsley will.

The boundaries of the political map might look very different in Surrey after the next election - but it will be up to the voters to decide the colour of the new constituencies.

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