Residents across our area will soon vote in the first elections for the new West Surrey unitary authority.

It may not feel as high profile as a general election, but the decisions made on 7 May will shape how local services are run - and who is accountable - for years to come.

Local government rarely grabs the headlines yet it is the part of our democracy that most directly affects daily life: the condition of our roads, the reliability of bin collections, the care of vulnerable residents and the support available for children with special educational needs.

For years, Surrey has operated under a two-tier system, with borough and district councils delivering local services, and Surrey County Council responsible for education, social care and highways.

That system is now being replaced.

Following a decision in late 2024 to fast-track reorganisation, Surrey is moving to a new structure of large unitary authorities. As part of that process, the May 2025 elections were cancelled, meaning councillors elected in 2021 will now remain in office until 2027 while overseeing these changes.

Whatever one’s view of reorganisation, this context matters. Changes of this scale are being introduced without residents having had a direct say beforehand.

That makes the election on 7 May all the more important. It is the first real opportunity for residents to shape how this new system will work in practice - and who will be responsible for delivering it.

The proposed West Surrey authority will serve around 650,000 people, bringing together Woking, Spelthorne, Guildford, Runnymede, Surrey Heath and Waverley. That is far larger than most unitary councils in England.

Scale can bring efficiencies. But it also raises a fundamental question: how do you maintain genuine local accountability at that size?

Part of the answer lies in representation - and here the changes ahead deserve more attention.

Under the new arrangements, the number of councillors representing our communities will be significantly reduced. Some may instinctively welcome that. But in my experience, councillors play a vital, often unseen role: scrutinising decisions, resolving local issues, and acting as a crucial bridge between residents and the system.

Fewer councillors will mean fewer voices making the case for local communities - and fewer people available to help residents navigate increasingly complex systems. That is a loss of accountability and local support that, over time, we are all likely to feel.

This is a particular challenge in areas without an active parish or town council. At the same time, the role of those new West Surrey councillors will become more demanding. They will be responsible for larger populations and broader portfolios, requiring a level of time commitment that increasingly resembles a full-time role.

That carries its own risk. As the demands grow, the pool of people able to serve may narrow - particularly for younger, working-age residents who have careers and family commitments.

At precisely the moment when fresh perspectives and real-world experience are most needed to shape new institutions, the barriers to participation may be rising.

Alongside these structural changes sit real financial pressures. The councils expected to form West Surrey carry significant levels of debt, and there are clear questions about how services will be funded sustainably in the years ahead.

It is therefore entirely reasonable for residents to ask: who will make decisions, how will they be held accountable, and how will the costs be shared fairly?

Local government reform can be an opportunity - to simplify structures, improve services and deliver better value. But it must be done in a way that is open about the challenges and grounded in public confidence.

That is why the election on 7 May matters.

It is not just about who runs the new authority. It is about setting the tone for how it operates: how closely it listens, how transparently it governs, and how well it reflects the communities it serves.

Residents will soon have the chance to make that choice.

And at a moment of such significant change, that choice has rarely mattered more.