The 2014 Reigate and Banstead Borough Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of Reigate and Banstead Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council is made up of 51 councillors representing 17 wards, with each ward electing three members. This arrangement underpins the councilâÂÂs responsibility for delivering district-level services, including planning, environmental health, waste collection, and cultural provision, while broader functions such as education, social care, and highways are handled by Surrey County Council.
Elections are conducted on a staggered cycle in which one-third of the seats, one per ward, are contested each year for three consecutive years, followed by a year without elections. This system creates overlapping four-year terms that promote continuity. Voting uses the first-past-the-post method, with each ward selecting a single candidate per election, and the candidate with the highest votes securing the seat. This format, typical of English district councils, remained in place in 2014, when elections were held on 22 May alongside the European Parliament elections and other local contests.
The council operates under a leader-and-cabinet model, where the full council appoints a leader, usually from the majority party, who then selects a cabinet to carry out executive duties within agreed policy and budget frameworks. The cabinet meets regularly, approximately every six weeks, to manage operational matters, while scrutiny committees and the full council provide oversight. In 2014, this structure enabled the formation of the governing administration based on electoral outcomes, although not all wards participated in that yearâÂÂs vote; for example, Preston and Salfords and Sidlow were excluded due to the election cycle.