Time for “a proper grown-up conversation” about the future of councils in the wake of the local election results
The results of the local elections are in - but there is much concern about the future
Calls have been made for “a proper grown-up conversation” about the future of councils in the wake of the local elections which saw the Liberal Democrats take back control of Portsmouth City Council.
It comes as the elections left a mixed bag of results for all parties across Hampshire - with Labour losing the most support across the county leaving the party in disarray.
This week’s local elections will be the last for many councils ahead of the Local Government Reorganisation which will see all existing councils abolished and Portsmouth, Havant, Fareham, Gosport joined together to create one single larger council to cover the whole area.
And now, the results have left Hampshire with a real mixed political picture going into the changes as the councils now begin with work behind the scenes to make it happen on April 1 2028.
But Portsmouth City Council leader Steve Pitt said that the very first priority he had was to get the government to “come to the table and have a proper grown-up conversation” about the shake-up, and about the damage believed it was going to do to Portsmouth.
He added his administration would “continue to work cross-party where we can” and said: “My door is open, if people need help to support the residents in their wards, they can come and talk to me.”
Meanwhile Reform UK has now also got more of a foot in the door across the county, doubling the number of seats it has at Havant Borough Council winning five on top of the five it already had as a result of defections. The party also won nine seats at Gosport Borough Council, adding to the one it had previously won at a recent by election, with the Lib Dems losing control of the council losing more than half of its seats.
For the first time in almost three decades the Conservatives have lost control of Hampshire Council Council having lost around half of its seats, but the Tories kept control of Fareham Borough Council where they lost little ground to Reform.
Reform UK’s Portsmouth city councillor and a newly-election county councillor for Havant George Madgwick said that he was delighted with his party’s performance which saw it gain two new city councillors. However the party did lose Jason Fazackarley’s seat to the Lib Dems.
Mr Madgwick said: “We had a great result in Portsmouth, gaining two councillors and winning the popular vote by 33 per cent showing that we are Portsmouth’s most popular party.
“Labour’s vote, citywide, was destroyed as voters clearly showed a strong message that people are tired of this Labour government.”
Mr Madgwick also expressed concerns about the impact Local Government Reorganisation will have on the city and pledged to work with political rivals to recure the best outcome for the city.
He said: “We now enter as the leaders of the opposition into a few years of uncertainty throughout LGR and we will be happy to work cross party to see the best result for the people of Portsmouth.
Local results
- Portsmouth City Council - Liberal Democrats in overall control
- Fareham Borough Council - Conservatives in overall control
- Gosport Borough Council - no overall control
- Havant Borough Council - no overall control
- Hampshire County Council - no overall control