Election results declared following local council votes
By Connor Steel
THOUSANDS OF VOTERS participated in their latest ‘democratic exercise’ to elect councillors for Hampshire County Council alongside the local council wards across Gosport and Fareham throughout Thursday (07/05); which offered a contrasting political landscape for both areas following a tense night of verification and counting continuing into Friday.
Half of the council ward seats were up for election in Gosport and Fareham following a local vote in May 2022 / 2024, whilst all seats were decided in Hampshire County Council for the first time since 2021. It was further the first time for voters to make their voice heard on the ballot in twenty-two months since the General Election held back in July 2024.
Gosport Borough Council (No Party Majority) – Results can be downloaded using this link here
Reform UK were the largest winners at Gosport Leisure Centre as they won a total of nine council seats from fourteen available at the expense of an incumbent Liberal Democrats meaning that no single party has an overall control of the Town Hall as final results were announced later on Friday morning due to a higher turnout and a ‘shortage of counters’.
They saw wins in Forton, Brockhurst and Privett, Grange and Alver Valley, Harbourside and Town, Hardway, Leesland and Newtown, and Rowner and Holbrook wards where they had varying winning majorities for the first time. Their real victories were however in Bridgemary and Elson ousting both veteran councillors of Steve Hammond and Sue Ballard.
In contrast to jubilant scenes from Reform UK it proved a bad night for the Liberal Democrats as they lost seven seats overall after successes in 2022 and 2024; as well as finishing bottom in Harbourside and Town alongside Grange and Alver Valley. It means that the party are no longer the largest party in the Town Hall and minority leadership has ended.
The Conservatives now have the most councillors as they had a steady night maintaining seats in both Alverstoke and Anglesey wards, alongside a victory in Lee West, Lee East and finally Peel Common areas. They were then second in Harbourside and Town and the five seats won in 2026 means they have eleven councillors, despite losing in one ward.
Both the Labour Party and Green Party endured poor nights as they regularly formed the ‘final two spots’ across many areas; whilst they had a reduced vote share compared to May 2022 and 2024. The Labour Party furthermore lost their only council seat in Harbourside and Town as they finished 3rd behind the winners Reform UK, and the Conservatives.
The final result was declared shortly after 11am with the Conservatives now having eleven councillors and Reform UK running close behind with ten; including the nine representatives gained in the election. The Liberal Democrats have a total of six councillors with an Independent to complete the full twenty-eight seats moving forward within the Town Hall.
Fareham Borough Council (Conservative Hold) – Results can be downloaded using this link here
It proved a great evening for the Fareham Conservatives as they held off the threats of Reform UK and retained a big majority with success in twelve out of its sixteen ward seats with just two results ruining the otherwise perfect evening. This was despite initial concerns due to large turnouts and predictions that this council could see a “dramatic change”.
One of two seats lost by the Conservatives was the ward for Fareham Park; this was won by Kerry Stubbs for Reform UK with a majority of 190 votes. Reform UK also finished second in multiple seats including Fareham Town and Hook-with-Warsash to earn a successful night for this party although they will be disappointed in only winning a single ward.
Meanwhile for local Liberal Democrats they saw a very ‘steady evening’ as they won in Portchester Wicor, where they regained this seat after Paul Whittle defected from this party to the Conservatives in 2025. It follows a great record for the party in the Portchester areas over recent years as their candidate Dave Wiltshire won in Portchester Castle ward.
Sadly for both the Labour Party and Green Party, they failed to gain momentums in many wards as they rotated in the bottom slots. Many believe this was a reflection of the current national pictures and recent events involving both of the top leaders with most candidates reflecting on conversations they have had with voters during the very long campaign.
Following these results being declared until Friday morning, the Conservatives represent a total of twenty-two seats in Fareham Borough Council with the Liberal Democrats having seven councillors after this count. The Labour Party and Reform UK both have one councillor each whilst there is one Independent / other representative in the 32-seat council.
Hampshire County Council (No Party Majority) – Results can be downloaded via this link here
There will be a ‘hung’ council in Winchester as the seventy-eight seats were declared overnight across Hampshire with the Conservatives losing their previous overall control after losing the total of twenty-nine seats in the big regional vote; with Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats making gains in several divisions including within Gosport / Fareham areas.
Reform UK were successful across twenty divisions including the Bridgemary and Hardway divisions in Gosport, whilst they gained both councillors electable for Fareham Town. They also won in big parts of Basingstoke, Havant, Aldershot and Hayling Island alongside earning their division for Ringwood and South Waterside (on either side of Southampton).
Meanwhile the Conservatives held firm to win a total of twenty seven seats with victories across Gosport and Fareham; including the divisions for Lee, Leesland and Town, Fareham Crofton, Fareham Titchfield and Fareham Warsash. They also won swatches of North Hampshire such as for Andover and Test Valley; along with Petersfield Hanger, and others.
The Liberal Democrats are running closely behind the Conservatives as they won twenty-six division wards across this region; including wins of Alton Town, Hartley Wintney, Yateley West, Lyndhurst and in Fordingbridge. There was also a win in Fareham Portchester as they saw off an emerging threat from second placed Reform UK for a 409 vote majority.
For the Green Party they did get one seat from the Conservatives of Emsworth and St Faiths; which was said to be the scene of a voting mix up over county council division boundaries involving an issue of wrong ballot papers. The Labour Party meanwhile held the seat of Basingstoke North but failed to gain any real traction in most areas across the county.
The new makeup of Hampshire County Council shows the Conservatives having a third of the seats with twenty-seven councillors, with the Liberal Democrats having twenty-six and Reform UK earning twenty. The Labour Party and Green Party have a councillor alongside 1 Independent, 1 Whitehill & Bordon Community Party, and a Community Campaign.
It was a similar ‘nationwide’ picture with Labour losing control of over 1000 council wards in England, whilst Reform UK have gained 1400 at the time of writing across the country. The SNP have won the most seats in Scotland’s Parliament but haven’t got an overall majority, whilst the Labour Party have lost control in Wales for the first time in over 100 years.
Readers can explore these detailed results by visiting each council’s website, whilst they are encouraged to visit media links like BBC News, Sky News, and ITV for developments / analysis on the national picture through this next few days.
PICTURED: Group of Gosport candidates from Reform UK stand for a photograph in the early hours of Friday morning.
