Local elections 2026: Cllr Graham Burgess 'likely' to hold Lee East for Conservatives
The battle between Reform and the Conservative Party is hotting up in Gosport.
The Conservatives may hang onto one or two seats in Gosport, as Reform UK prepare to sweep the town’s seats.
Reform candidates are in high spirits at Gosport Leisure Centre tonight, with expectations that the majority of seats will be swinging in their favour.
The Liberal Democrats are anticipating that they will lose all of their seats to Reform, while battles for Conservative seats are “nip and tuck”.
Reform councillor, Paul Carter, said: “I think we’ll be taking most, if not all, of the Lib Dem seats tonight.
“I’m not sure if we’re going to win in Lee East, it looks like Cllr Graham Burgess will be holding onto that one. But it’ll be interesting to see how close it is, and what will happen at a county level.”
Another ward that could go down to the wire is Peel Common, although incumbent Conservative candidate Cllr Stephen Philpott could hang onto his seat “by his fingertips”, The News understands.
It has also been suggested that turnout for this local election is significantly higher across Hampshire - a trend in-line with the rest of the country.
At the moment, Reform does not have a group leader in Gosport, but Cllr Carter insisted that won’t hold them back if they do take power.
He added: “We don’t have a group leader yet, but what we do have is a very strong manifesto. This has been months in the making in terms of planning, so we’re not going in blind.”
Cllr Burgess has reportedly left the count in Gosport after feeling unwell. If he retains his seat in Lee East, former council leader and Conservative chairman Mark Hook will be giving a speech on his behalf.