Photo: Alan Hunt · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Runnymede Borough Council
Penton Hook is run by Runnymede Borough Council and Surrey County Council. No party holds a majority on Runnymede Borough Council. The Conservatives have a majority on Surrey County Council. Its MP is Dr Ben Spencer (Conservative), member for Runnymede and Weybridge.
£2,493
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Penton Hook’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Runnymede Borough Council
The Conservatives, the largest group, hold 11 of its 41 seats as elected, 10 short of the 21 needed (it held 20 before the May 2024 election). Labour holds 8, the Liberal Democrats 6, Runnymede Independent Residents' Group 6, independents 5, the Greens 3 and Reform UK 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 Penton Hook’s wards, Runnymede Independent Residents' Group took 47.4%, the Conservatives took 35% and Labour took 13.5% of votes in May 2024. In 2023, Runnymede Independent Residents' Group had 53.5%. How Penton Hook has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Penton Hook is £2,493 for 2026–27; Runnymede Borough Council keeps 8% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 52% 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 Penton Hook’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 21 of Runnymede’s 41 or 41 of Surrey’s 81 seats to run the council alone.
- Conservative11−9
- Labour8+4
- Liberal Democrat6+2
- Runnymede Independent Residents' Group6no change
- Independent5no change
- Green3+1
- Reform UK2+2
Change against the council before the 2 May 2024 election.
- 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
Penton Hook 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 Penton Hook 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 Penton Hook, from the most recent elections.
- 1Runnymede Borough Council1 ward · 3 councillorsMargaret Theresa HarndenElaine GillLinda Mary Gillham
- 2Surrey County Council1 division · 1 councillorJonathan Hulley
- 3Police and crime commissionerSurrey Police · elected May 2024Lisa Townsend
- 4House of CommonsRunnymede and Weybridge
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.
3 councillors for 1 ward
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.
- Margaret Theresa HarndenRunnymede Independent Residents' Group · May 2024
- Elaine GillRunnymede Independent Residents' Group · May 2023
- Linda Mary GillhamRunnymede Independent Residents' Group · May 2022
Show as a table, with Surrey County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thorpe7% in Penton Hook · 404 residents3 seats · May 2024, May 2023, May 2022 | 3 | Margaret Theresa HarndenElaine GillLinda Mary Gillham | May 2024, May 2023, May 2022 |
Surrey County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foxhills, Thorpe and Virginia Water ED3% in Penton Hook · 404 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | Jonathan Hulley | May 2021 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Runnymede 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).
Runnymede Independent Residents' Group has led every council vote since 2021
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Penton Hook’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 | 11% | 14% | 12.9% | 13.5% |
| Liberal Democrat | 4.2% | 4.9% | 5.1% | 4.1% |
| Conservative | 33.8% | 28% | 28.6% | 35% |
| Runnymede Independent Residents' Group | 51% | 53.1% | 53.5% | 47.4% |
In 2024, Runnymede Independent Residents' Group won 1 of the 1 seats up in Penton Hook’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.
Runnymede council election, May 2024
Results in the wards that make up Penton Hook, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
1 ward voted. Runnymede elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Penton Hook’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗1,403 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Penton Hook is in Runnymede and Weybridge constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Penton Hook).
48,253 votes for candidates · majority 7,627
Conservative, MP since 12 December 2019.
turnout in July 2024: 48,253 votes from 73,610 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 7,627 of 48,253 votes (15.8%): wider than in 56% 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.
Penton Hook’s Band D council tax is £2,493 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Runnymede Borough Council keeps £202.00 of a Band D bill (8%); the rest goes to Surrey County Council and the Surrey police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
Runnymede’s Band D bill has risen 52% in ten years, from £1,638.06 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £470.25 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Runnymede, 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
| Runnymede + Surrey | Penton Hook’s councils | Surrey | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £471 | £471 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £216 | £217 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £81 | £69 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £20 | £30 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £134 | £128 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £41 | £33 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £46 | £32 | £26 |
| Public health | £42 | £43 | £78 |
| Running the council | £75 | £79 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £-2 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,166 | £1,139 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Runnymede 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 Penton Hook 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.
runnymede.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
runnymede.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Penton Hook is run
Which council runs Penton Hook?
The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Penton Hook have a town council?
No. Penton Hook is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Penton Hook?
Dr Ben Spencer (Conservative) is the MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, which covers Penton Hook.
How many councillors does Penton Hook have?
3 ward councillors represent Penton Hook’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Penton Hook?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Penton Hook’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Penton Hook?
Band D council tax in Penton Hook is £2,493 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Runnymede Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Conservative 11 · Labour 8 · Liberal Democrat 6 · Runnymede Independent Residents' Group 6 · Independent 5 · Green 3 · Reform UK 2 of 41 seats; a majority needs 21. 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 Penton Hook?
In Penton Hook’s wards on 2 May 2024, Runnymede Independent Residents' Group 1 of the 1 seats up. Runnymede Independent Residents' Group had the largest share of votes, 47.4%.
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.