Mole Valley 14 Liberal Democrats, and 7 Independents (6 Ashtead Independents and 1 Beare Green Independent). There are no Labour, UKIP or Green Party councillors. Surrey County Council, elected every four years, obtains six representatives from this area: The district, named after the River Mole, was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the urban districts of Dorking and Leatherhead and most of the Dorking and Horley Rural District. A Legatum Prosperity Index published by the Legatum Institute in October 2016 showed Mole Valley as the second most prosperous council area in the United
River Mole Ages and the river appears as "Amele" in Domesday Book and subsequently as "Emele" in 12th- and 13th-century Court Rolls. This name is probably derived from the Old English word "æmen" meaning "misty" or "causing mists", and the name of the River Ember probably has its origins in this name. The name "Mole" does not appear until the 16th century, first occurring as "Moule" in Harrison's "Description of Britain" of 1577. The antiquarian William Camden uses the Latinized form "Molis" in the 1586 edition of "Britannia" and Michael Drayton is the first to use "Mole" in his poem "Poly-Olbion" published