Joanne Sexton is Leader after the 22 October no-confidence vote on Greg Neall. The Tory motion had named John Boughtflower; how the vote was set up.
Spelthorne councillors will vote on Thursday on whether to remove the council’s Leader and Deputy Leader.
Updated 25 October: the vote has taken place. Councillor Joanne Sexton of the Independent Spelthorne Group was elected Leader and Councillor Chris Bateson Deputy Leader, the council announced. The Conservative nominees were not elected. Read our report of the result.
An extraordinary meeting of the full council has been called for 7pm on 22 October with a single item of business. The motion asks for a vote of no confidence in the Leader, Councillor Greg Neall, and the Deputy Leader, Councillor Chris Bateson. Both are Liberal Democrats.
It also proposes replacements: Councillor John Boughtflower as Leader and Councillor Matthew Lee as Deputy Leader. The two lead the council’s Conservative group. The motion is proposed by Councillor Boughtflower and seconded by Councillor Karen Howkins, also a Conservative. That is all set out in the agenda for the meeting, which the interim chief executive, Gordon Mitchell, issued on 14 October.
The agenda gives no reasons for the motion and carries no supporting report.
The same councillors backed him in May
Councillor Neall was elected Leader at the annual council meeting on 20 May, taking over from Councillor Joanne Sexton of the Independent Spelthorne Group. The council’s announcement quoted him saying it was “a great honour” to “guide the authority into West Surrey”.
The minutes of that meeting record a named vote. Councillor Neall won with the votes of nine Liberal Democrats and nine Conservatives. Councillors Boughtflower, Lee and Howkins were among them.
| Vote on 20 May 2026 | Leader | Deputy Leader |
|---|---|---|
| For the winning candidate | 18 (Neall) | 19 (Bateson) |
| Against, or for the other candidate | 10 (Sexton) | 10 |
| Abstained | 5 | 4 |
Six councillors sent apologies that night. Councillor Bateson was re-elected Deputy Leader in a separate vote. Councillors Boughtflower, Lee and Howkins voted for him too.
So the motion on Thursday comes from councillors who put the current leadership in place five months ago.
How the council is made up
No group has a majority on the 39-seat council. The councillors register lists, as of 18 October:
- Conservative: 14
- Liberal Democrat: 11
- Labour: 6
- Independent Spelthorne Group: 6, including one Green Party councillor who sits with the group
- Unaffiliated independent: 2
The Conservatives cannot carry the motion on their own. Its outcome turns on how the other groups vote, and on who turns up.
Councillor Boughtflower has led the council before. In March 2021, as Leader, he faced a no-confidence motion of his own. It fell by 17 votes to 8, with 10 abstentions, according to the minutes.
The same evening’s other business
The ordinary council meeting is due to start straight after the extraordinary one ends. Its agenda includes two decisions we have reported on:
- whether to sell Communications House in South Street now, or wait for the Staines Masterplan
- a motion opposing a third runway at Heathrow, seconded by Councillor Bateson
What it means for you
- Day-to-day services do not change. Bins, council tax and benefits are run by council staff and carry on whoever leads.
- The vote is about who leads the council’s final months. Spelthorne is due to be replaced by the new West Surrey council, which is already consulting on changes such as a single council tax reduction scheme.
- You can watch the decision being made. The agenda lists the Council Chamber at Knowle Green as the venue, at 7pm on Thursday 22 October. Your ward councillors and their contact details are on the councillors register.
Our report of the result is here.
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