Published Friday, 2nd October 2026
Last night, Thursday 01 October, a motion proposing a vote of no confidence in Reigate & Banstead Borough Council’s Leader was debated at Full Council
However, it did not receive a majority vote, meaning the current Leader, Cllr Richard Biggs, remains in post.
42 councillors attended the meeting. 21 councillors voted in favour of the motion and 21 voted against it. There were no abstentions.
In accordance with the Council’s Constitution where there is a tie, the Mayor exercised his casting vote, resulting in a final vote of 21 in favour and 22 against. Therefore the motion was not carried.
Cllr Richard Biggs said: “I’m grateful for the support of my colleagues who showed their faith in my leadership, recognising the important work we are doing to enable our communities to thrive.
“With six months of Reigate & Banstead remaining, stability will enable us to stay focused on delivering the key projects our residents want and prepare to handover to the new East Surrey Council the best way possible.”
Chief Executive Mari Roberts-Wood said: “We look forward to continuing to support the leadership of this Council to ensure a smooth transition to East Surrey and at the same time keeping the day to day services our communities rely on running efficiently. We have some critical months ahead - striving to achieve the best outcomes for our residents whilst leaving a positive legacy of our council.”
- The motion (see p101) was proposed by Cllr Mark Smith, ward councillor for Redhill West and Wray Common (member of the Green and Redhill Independent political group) and seconded by Cllr Rod Ashford, ward councillor for Lower Kingswood, Tadworth and Walton (member of the Independent group).
- All councillors were invited to the meeting but only those attending in person were able to vote.
- For more details including the webcast, visit our website.