MP pushing for decision over mayor for Surrey

A Surrey MP has said he will continue to put pressure on the government to create a new directly elected mayor for the county.

Dr Ben Spencer, the Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, says the role is needed to "maximise the benefits" of the planned reorganisation of local government.

In 2027 two new unitary councils, East and West Surrey, will take over from Surrey County Council (SCC) and the district and borough councils, with the Liberal Democrats winning control of them in local elections on 7 May.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.

Dr Spencer told BBC Radio Surrey the government had not yet "100% committed to a Surrey mayor", but he said it was "really important to free up devolution, to maximise the benefits of it".

"We need them there for Surrey when it comes to planning, when it comes to big infrastructure projects and it's something I keep on raising in Parliament," he said.

"There's a lot of uncertainty and I worry that, with this change which has been forced on us by the Labour government, there's going to be a period of uncertainty and delay when we desperately need to get things moving here."

Tim Oliver, the Conservative leader of SCC, said the government had "informally confirmed we are on that journey" to get a mayor, but expected it to be pushed back to 2028.

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