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What young voters make of Surrey's local elections

Peter Whittlesea and Zac Sherratt,in Farnhamand
Jack Fiehn,Surrey political reporter
Zac Sherratt/BBC Chloe Ing, 21, illustration student, looks straight at the camera. She has long dark curly hair and is wearing an orange vest topZac Sherratt/BBC
Chloe Ing says she feels strongly about social issues

Young people in Farnham in Surrey say the environment, cost of living, homelessness and the impact of AI are among their concerns ahead of the local elections.

Voters are choosing which councillors they want to represent them on two new unitary councils in West and East Surrey.

The authorities, which are being created as part of plans to reform local government in England, will replace Surrey County Council and 11 borough and district councils.

With the upcoming elections on 7 May, the BBC spoke to some students at the University for the Creative Arts.

Zac Sherratt/BBC Maxwell Rhule, 21, graphic design student, looks straight at the camera.Zac Sherratt/BBC
Maxwell Rhule is concerned about the cost of living and affording to live after university

Graphic design student Maxwell Rhule, 21, said he did not know that much about the local elections, but was planning to vote.

"I think the main thing I'm concerned about is obviously leaving uni, the cost of living crisis, being able to afford to move out one day and being able to afford to live," he said.

"I think that's definitely the biggest one."

Less than half of people aged 11 to 25 said they were interested in UK politics, according to a 2025 report by the Electoral Commission.

Chloe Ing, 21, who is an illustration student, said she felt it was important for young people to use any platforms available to have their say on issues.

"I understand wanting to abstain, but if you abstain then nothing's going to change," she said.

"I personally feel quite strongly about social issues, people not having what they need in daily life."

Zac Sherratt/BBC Left to right, Samuel, 21, Caitlin, 21, and Taylor, 20, who are all graphics students are interviewed by BBC South East Today reporter, Peter Whittlesea. Peter holds a sign saying Your Voice. They are all sat on a bench.Zac Sherratt/BBC
Samuel, Caitlin and Taylor say they are not very interested in the local elections

Graphics student Samuel, 21, said he had heard about the elections on the news.

When asked about how excited he was feeling about them on a scale of one to 10, fellow graphics student, Taylor, answered: "maybe two."

Samuel, Caitlin and Taylor all said that currently they did not plan to vote.

Another student, who is from Ukraine, urged people to use their vote when they can because "there is so much at stake" in the current world situation.

"Not using that opportunity to [vote] is quite upsetting to me," she added.

Photography student Toby Crucefix, 19, and Lucas Jarvis-Styles, 26, who studies comics and concept art, raised the issue of building works and the impact on the roads in the town.

"We're at the far end of Farnham and we noticed traffic queuing up even past our house," Crucefix said.

Zac Sherratt/BBC Anna Cruddis, 20, animation student, looks straight at the camera. She has dark blonde hair, with two small plaits, and is wearing a green hoodieZac Sherratt/BBC
Anna Cruddis said she aimed to "keep track" of politics

Anna Cruddis, 20, who is studying animation, said that she did know about the elections and was "very into" politics.

"In general, I definitely keep track because it's extremely important," she added.

In terms of key issues, she said that "things that are going to help build up the local community and resources," education and "combating hate" were important to her.

Zac Sherratt/BBC Charlie Tuck, 23, animation student looks straight at the cameraZac Sherratt/BBC
Charlie Tuck said the environment was a key concern

Charlie Tuck, 23, who is also studying animation, said she had not previously been aware of the elections, but would vote now that she knew about them.

She said the key issues for her were "mostly environmental" and she was also concerned about the impact of the war in Iran.

Locally, she said there was "a lot of litter."

"That's not very nice to see on the streets and everyone wants to live in a clean area so it's not ideal," she added.

Zac Sherratt/BBC Ben Annett, 20, acting student looks slightly away from the camera.Zac Sherratt/BBC
Ben Annett said he was worried about the impact of AI on jobs

Acting student, Ben Annett, 20, also said he did not know about the elections, but was keen to vote after taking part in the general election in 2024.

He wanted to see more action taken over issues like homelessness and the risk of AI "taking people's jobs away from artists".

"We're at an art uni [and] it's a bit of a shame when AI is involved because we work really hard," he said.

"At the end of the day, we're here for three years trying to perfect our crafts and then, if it's taken by AI, what's the point and being here and having all this knowledge?"

The East Surrey Council will have 72 seats up for election in 36 wards, while West Surrey will have 90 seats for 45 wards.

A total of 831 candidates are standing across the county.

Elected councillors are due to serve for five years until May 2031

A purple banner displaying the words "More on election 2026" beside a colourful pyramid shape in green, pink and blue

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