The 2023 Local Elections herald some very significant changes at Waverley Borough Council – whatever the result on May 4.

Stepping away from the political arena are two former borough council leaders in Julia Potts (Conservative, Frensham, Dockenfield and Tilford 2019-2023 and formerly Upper Hale 2015-2019) and Robert Knowles (Con, Haslemere East and Grayswood since 2007) – the latter being Waverley's longest serving leader ever, from 2010 to 2016.

Also retiring their council seats are two former borough mayors in Penny Marriott (Farnham Residents, Upper Hale – mayor in 2020/21), Mary Foryszewski (Con, Cranleigh East – mayor in 2019/20).

Other notable departures include last year's Haslemere town mayor Simon Dear (Con, Haslemere East and Grayswood) and long-serving Conservatives Anna James (Con, Chiddingfold), and Jenny and David Else (Con, Elstead).

These have been replaced with an array of new names, particularly on the Conservative benches, including unusually the South West Surrey Conservative Association agent Sean Donovan-Smith in Farnham Moor Park.

And there are some returning Conservatives too, hoping to win back their seats lost at the 2019 poll, including Pat Frost (in Farnham North West), Ged Hall and past Haslemere mayor Malcolm Carter (both Hindhead and Beacon Hill).

The Herald has invited every borough candidate standing for election in its Farnham and Haslemere circulation areas to submit 100 word profiles for the Thursday, April 27 edition of the paper.

In addition, the Boundary Commission for England and Wales has made sweeping changes to many ward boundaries at this election – including scrapping many entirely. 

These include Farnham Upper Hale being replaced by Farnham North West, and Western Villages being replaced with Western Commons.

The Commission's objective is to lower the number of councillors to be elected in Waverley from 57 to 50, and to guarantee that each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors.

Borough and district councils provide a range of public services to residents, including housing, planning and development control, waste management, environmental health, leisure and culture, licensing, parking, council tax and benefits administration, running elections, collecting business rates and community safety.

Listed below are all the candidates standing for Waverley Borough Council to oversee the delivery of these vital public services in the May 4 local elections.

Each ward will elect councillors to two council ‘seats’, unless stated otherwise:

Alfold, Dunsfold & Hascombe:

Kevin Neil Deanus (Conservative)

Zahid Naqvi (Labour)

Guy Brooks Palmer (Lib Dems)

Kurt Connor Relleen (Conservative)

Amanda Taryn Sampson (Green)

Bramley & Wonersh (three seats):

Lauren Kay Atkins (Conservative)

Jane Kathryn Austin (Conservative)

Martin William D'Arcy (Green)

Michael Rodney Goodridge (Conservative)

Simon Joseph Hall (Labour)

Christopher James Hard (Labour)

Mark Claude James Vivian (Lib Dems)

Paul William Wright (Lib Dems)

Chiddingfold (one seat):

Dave Busby (Lib Dems)

Kathleen Patricia Thompson (Conservative)

Cranleigh East (three seats):

Simon Robertson Chatfield (Conservative)

Dennis Arthur Davidson (Conservative)

Stephanie Ann Kelly (Conservative)

Ken Reed (Lib Dems)

Ruth Carolyn Reed (Lib Dems)

Philip Townsend (Lib Dems)

Mark West (Labour)

Cranleigh West:

Arthur Martin Barringer (Reform UK)

Thomas George Cox (Conservative)

Joseph Ben Davies (Labour)

Laurence Dunn (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)

Alan Rodney Morrison (Lib Dems)

Christopher William Pierce (Conservative)

Liz Townsend (Lib Dems)

Ellie Waple (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)

Elstead & Peper Harow (one seat):

Sheila Dowell (Conservative)

Gemma Felicity Long (Lib Dems)

Ewhurst & Ellens Green (one seat):

Nigel Edward Garfit Clowes (Conservative)

Michael James Higgins (Lib Dems)

James Bryan Mitchell (Labour)

Keith Nisbet (Reform UK)

Farnham Bourne:

Carole Agnes Cockburn (Conservative)

Aly Fitch (Conservative)

Michaela Jane Martin (Farnham Residents)

Christopher George Murray (Farnham Residents)

George Wilson (Green)

Farnham Castle:

John Michael Barrington Gaskell (Labour)

George Adam Legrew Hesse (Farnham Residents)

Heather McClean (Farnham Residents)

Clare Louise Ovens (Conservative)

Anthony John Watson (Conservative)

Farnham Firgrove:

Rebecca Michelle Birchwood (Labour)

Arthur Forrest (Conservative)

Jerry Hyman (Farnham Residents)

Kika Mirylees (Farnham Residents)

William Toby Page (Conservative)

Farnham Heath End:

Rosamund Croft (Conservative)

Tony Fairclough (Farnham Residents)

Andrew Desmond Jones (Labour)

Timothy Stacey (Conservative)

Michaela Colleen Wicks (Farnham Residents)

Farnham Moor Park:

Sarah Marie Austin (Conservative)

Sean Patrick Donovan-Smith (Conservative)

Andy MacLeod (Farnham Residents)

Mark Ian Merryweather (Lib Dems)

Farnham North West:

David Beaman (Farnham Residents)

Natasha Maria Carlotta Fletcher (Green)

Pat Frost (Conservative)

James Pressly (Conservative)

Graham John White (Farnham Residents)

Farnham Rowledge:

Peter Alexander Clark (Farnham Residents)

David Alan Dearsley (Conservative)

Christopher Neil Storey (Conservative)

John Anthony Ward (Farnham Residents)

Mark Edward Westcott (Independent)

Farnham Weybourne:

Andrew James Seymour Laughton (Farnham Residents)

Anthony Guy Grantly Lewis (Conservative)

Ian Sampson (Conservative)

Richard Peter Steijger (Lib Dems)

Godalming Binscombe & Charterhouse (three seats):

Steve Cosser (Conservative)

Ed Holliday (Conservative)

Daniel Ali Husseini (Conservative)

Nick Palmer (Labour)

Paul Sidney Rivers (Lib Dems)

Stephen Edward Dalton Williams (Green)

Godalming Central & Ockford:

Andrew John Campbell Bolton (Conservative)

Paul David Follows (Lib Dems)

Daren Howell (Conservative)

Victoria Claire Kiehl (Lib Dems)

Godalming Farncombe & Catteshall:

Janet Anne Crowe (Labour)

Penny Rivers (Lib Dems)

Robert Wells (Conservative)

Nick Williams (Conservative)

Godalming Holloway:

Adam James Lloyd Clark (Independent)

Adam William Duce (Lib Dems)

Margaret Anne Gray (Conservative)

Peter James Martin (Conservative)

Clare Louise Weightman (Green)

Haslemere East (three seats):

Zoe Alice Barker-Lomax (Conservative)

Graham Louis Betts (Conservative)

Shirley Lewis (Labour)

Claire Louise Matthes (Green)

Stephen Nigel Mulliner (Conservative)

Peter John Nicholson (Lib Dems)

Terry Weldon (Lib Dems)

Haslemere West:

Tom Bridge (Conservative)

Stephen Peter Fry (Conservative)

Jacqueline Rosemary Keen (Lib Dems)

John Edward Robini (Lib Dems)

Toby Luke Westcott-White (Labour)

Hindhead & Beacon Hill:

Malcolm Carter (Conservative)

Jerome Michael Francis Davidson (Lib Dems)

Ged Hall (Conservative)

Julian Hewitt Spence (Lib Dems)

Western Commons:

David John Munro (Independent)

Nabeel Nasir (Conservative)

Susan Mary Ryland (Green)

James Staunton (Conservative)

Witley & Milford (three seats):

Mark Andrew Bray-Parry (Green)

Maxine Beatrice Gale (Independent)

Gary Hudson (Conservative)

Andrew Duncan Law (Lib Dems)

Trevor James Sadler (Conservative)

Phoebe Sullivan (Conservative)

Number of candidates per political party across all Waverley Borough Council wards:

Number of Waverley wards contested by each party:

* The Conservative Party is the only party to contest all 23 of Waverley’s wards.