Bid for Surrey council to use Middlesex name agreed

Councillors have backed proposals to include the historic county of Middlesex in the name of the new West Surrey unitary authority.

Middlesex was absorbed by Greater London in 1965, apart from the borough of Spelthorne, which would fall under Surrey.

Next April, the 11 district and borough councils in Surrey will be replaced by east and west authorities, and councillors have now agreed the west council should be named West Surrey and South Middlesex, as it includes Spelthorne.

However, the motion is not legally binding and will require the approval of Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed.

Speaking ahead of the vote on Tuesday, Spelthorne councillor Robert Evans said: "I have been a supporter of restoring, where possible, the name of Middlesex for many years.

"The history of Middlesex, like that of Surrey, predates the Domesday Book and cannot be erased."

The motion was approved with 35 councillors voting in favour, eight against and 23 abstaining.

Last month, the local government secretary agreed to meet Spelthorne MP Lincoln Jupp to discuss the matter after it was raised in the House of Commons.

On Wednesday, Jupp told the BBC: "It would be great if the local government reorganisation recognised that Spelthorne is different to Surrey.

"We'll accept these changes more if central government recognises who we are and where we come from. And that's Middlesex."

The BBC asked the government for its response to the motion and if it had yet met with Jupp but did not receive a response.

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