Who is going to run Gosport Borough Council after local election results in no overall majority
No political party has enough seats in Gosport to claim a majority.
Reform UK may have won the most seats in last week’s local elections - but there’s no guarantee they will be leading Gosport Borough Council as a result.
Following the election count at Gosport Leisure Centre last Thursday (May 7), Reform claimed nine seats on the council, at the expense of the Liberal Democrats and Labour Party. The Conservatives held onto their positions, retaining 11 seats in total.
The political make-up of the council is now 11 Conservatives, 10 Reform, six Lib Dems and one independent. This means that no single party has enough seats to lead Gosport Borough Council outright, leading to what’s called a “hung” council.
It’s now expected that some political wheeling-and-dealing will take place, with either a coalition being formed, or a party trying to rule with a minority.
Liberal Democrat leader, Cllr Peter Chegwyn, is anticipating that the Conservatives and Reform will likely join forces, although cannot say for certain which party would take charge.
He said: “Nobody in the town hall seems to know anything about leadership yet. Everyone is simply having to wait and see.
“I am assuming that Cllr Stephen Philpott and the Conservatives will take the chairs, as they have the largest party, if only by one seat.
“I’m still technically council leader, but my diary is looking incredibly empty at the moment. We [Lib Dems] have had no approaches from other parties, but I do think about these things - and spoke to the Conservatives about it at the election count.
“There is no love lost between the Tories and Reform - there’s an argument to suggest that Reform actually has the mandate to govern, having won the most seats last week. But they are also new to local government as well.
“Either way, I’m guessing that the two parties will try and form a coalition, with the Conservatives taking the leader’s chair.
Speaking to The News, Cllr Philpott said the Conservatives are choosing their leader at their annual general meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, May 13), before any moves are made. We also contacted Cllr Paul Carter, Reform councillor for Bridgemary, for comment.