Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Elmbridge Borough Council
Esher is run by Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council. No party holds a majority on Elmbridge Borough Council. The Conservatives have a majority on Surrey County Council. Its MP is Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat), member for Esher and Walton.
£2,557
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Esher’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Elmbridge Borough Council
The Liberal Democrats, the largest group, hold 21 of its 50 seats as elected, 5 short of the 26 needed. The Conservatives hold 12, The Molesey Residents Association 3, Thames Ditton / Weston Green Residents' Association 3, Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations 3, Esher Residents Association 3 and Weybridge & St. George's Independents 2. Who’s in charge ↓
Surrey in 2021
Surrey County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, has a Conservative majority at the May 2021 election: the Conservatives won 41 of 81 seats. Surrey ↓
The 2024 vote
Across Esher’s wards, Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations took 32.8%, the Conservatives took 25.1% and Esher Residents Association took 22.2% of votes in May 2024. In 2023, Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations had 31.3%. How Esher has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Esher is £2,557 for 2026–27; Elmbridge Borough Council keeps 10% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 51% in ten years, against England’s 56%. Council money ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and MHCLG council tax.
Who holds the seats on Esher’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 26 of Elmbridge’s 50 or 41 of Surrey’s 81 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat21
- Conservative12
- Esher Residents Association3
- Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations3
- Thames Ditton / Weston Green Residents' Association3
- The Molesey Residents Association3
- Weybridge & St. George's Independents2
- Independent1
- The Walton Society1
Latest election: May 2024.
- Conservative41
- Liberal Democrat19
- Residents Associations of Epsom and Ewell4
- Farnham Residents3
- Independent3
- Green2
- Labour2
- Reform UK2
- Ashtead Independents1
- Nork & Tattenhams Residents' Associations1
- Residents for Guildford and Villages1
- Thames Ditton / Weston Green Residents' Association1
- The Molesey Residents Association1
Latest election: May 2021.
Seats are counted from election results: each ward’s most recent winners until its seats are filled. Councillors who have since changed party or resigned aren’t reflected, and which parties lead the council, and who is leader, comes from the council itself.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), elections since May 2021; seats per ward from its EveryElection.
Two tiers of council, no parish tier
Esher has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: in two-tier areas the district or borough runs local services and the county the big ones.
All of Esher is unparished: there is no parish or town council, so the council runs local matters itself and no parish precept is added to the bill.
Councils from ONS lookups (wards and councils May 2026, parishes 2025), names and websites from GOV.UK’s local council finder; parish councils from MHCLG’s 2026–27 list of precepting parishes.
From the council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Esher, from the most recent elections.
- 1Elmbridge Borough Council2 wards · 6 councillorsSimon Jonathan LeiferRichard Charles John WilliamsSimon Jonathan WaughGill CoatesJanet TurnerJames Bernard Gerard Crawshaw
- 2Surrey County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsJohn O'ReillyNick Darby
- 3Police and crime commissionerSurrey Police · elected May 2024Lisa Townsend
- 4House of CommonsEsher and Walton
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. Tap an MP’s name for their contact page on parliament.uk.
6 councillors for 2 wards
Wards with at least 2% of the town’s residents, or half their own inside it. Each shows who won its most recent elections, newest first, until its seats are filled.
- Simon Jonathan LeiferEsher Residents Association · May 2024
- Richard Charles John WilliamsEsher Residents Association · May 2023
- Simon Jonathan WaughEsher Residents Association · May 2022
- Gill CoatesHinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations · May 2024
- Janet TurnerHinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations · May 2023
- James Bernard Gerard CrawshawHinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations · May 2022
Show as a table, with Surrey County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eshermostly in Esher · 6,251 residents3 seats · May 2024, May 2023, May 2022 | 3 | Simon Jonathan LeiferRichard Charles John WilliamsSimon Jonathan Waugh | May 2024, May 2023, May 2022 |
| Hinchley Wood and Weston Green37% in Esher · 3,233 residents3 seats · May 2024, May 2023, May 2022 | 3 | Gill CoatesJanet TurnerJames Bernard Gerard Crawshaw | May 2024, May 2023, May 2022 |
Surrey County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hersham ED18% in Esher · 6,251 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | John O'Reilly | May 2021 |
| The Dittons ED13% in Esher · 3,233 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | Nick Darby | May 2021 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Elmbridge Borough Council’s website lists who sits now.
Results from Democracy Club’s candidates database (CC BY 4.0; elections since May 2021) and ward seats from its EveryElection, matched to ONS wards (May 2026) and county divisions (May 2025).
Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations has led every council vote since 2021
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Esher’s wards at each scheduled council election since 2021. A gap is a year with no election here.
Seats won at each election
Show as a table
| Party | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 4.2% | 3.8% | 6.5% | 4.4% |
| Liberal Democrat | 8.9% | 11% | 10.1% | 15.4% |
| Conservative | 27.8% | 26.3% | 26.8% | 25.1% |
| Esher Residents Association | 25.5% | 23.5% | 25.4% | 22.2% |
| Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations | 30.4% | 31.2% | 31.3% | 32.8% |
In 2024, Esher Residents Association won 1 and Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations won 1 of the 2 seats up in Esher’s wards.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Where a ward elects several councillors at once, each voter has that many votes; all of them count here.
Elmbridge council election, May 2024
Results in the wards that make up Esher, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
2 wards voted. Elmbridge elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Esher’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,371 votes for candidates
2,583 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Esher is in Esher and Walton constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Esher).
53,880 votes for candidates · majority 12,003
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 53,880 votes from 74,042 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 12,003 of 53,880 votes (22.3%): wider than in 72% of England’s 543 constituencies.
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate.
Esher’s Band D council tax is £2,557 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Elmbridge Borough Council keeps £265.88 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to Surrey County Council and the Surrey police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
Elmbridge’s Band D bill has risen 51% in ten years, from £1,696.24 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £606.38 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Elmbridge, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Surrey’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,300.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Surrey
| Elmbridge + Surrey | Esher’s councils | Surrey | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £484 | £471 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £216 | £217 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £69 | £69 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £55 | £30 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £141 | £128 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £38 | £33 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £27 | £32 | £26 |
| Public health | £42 | £43 | £78 |
| Running the council | £70 | £79 | £59 |
| Other | £12 | £-2 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,194 | £1,139 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Elmbridge per its residents plus Surrey per the county’s. Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Surrey and England: all their councils together. Police, fire and transport authorities aren’t included.
Band D: MHCLG Band D council tax 2026–27 (each authority’s own figure, excluding parish precepts) and Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils 2026–27; since 1993–94, MHCLG’s area averages including parishes.
Having a say in how Esher is run
It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.
gov.uk ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
elmbridge.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
elmbridge.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Esher is run
Which council runs Esher?
The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Esher have a town council?
No. Esher is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Esher?
Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Esher and Walton, which covers Esher.
How many councillors does Esher have?
6 ward councillors represent Esher’s 2 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Esher?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Esher’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Esher?
Band D council tax in Esher is £2,557 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Elmbridge Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 21 · Conservative 12 · The Molesey Residents Association 3 · Thames Ditton / Weston Green Residents' Association 3 · Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations 3 · Esher Residents Association 3 · Weybridge & St. George's Independents 2 · Independent 1 · The Walton Society 1 of 50 seats; a majority needs 26. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Surrey County Council?
The Conservatives have a majority: 41 of 81 seats as elected.
Who won the 2024 council election in Esher?
In Esher’s wards on 2 May 2024, Esher Residents Association 1 · Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations 1 of the 2 seats up. Hinchley Wood / Weston Green Residents' Associations had the largest share of votes, 32.8%.
Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency lookups (Census 2021 output areas; Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates (CC BY 4.0) and EveryElection · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · MHCLG Band D council tax, parish precepts and Revenue Account budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0) · ONS mid-2025 population estimates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.