ELECTION SHOCKWAVES: Havant Stays Hung as Hampshire Tories Lose County Grip

Havant woke up to a bruising political shake-up today after local election results left the borough under no overall control — and helped send Hampshire County Council into a historic hung-council moment.

ITV Meridian reported that the Conservatives have lost control of Hampshire County Council for the first time in almost 30 years, with both Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats making gains across the county.

The county council result matters far beyond Winchester. Hampshire County Council is one of the biggest councils in the country, serving nearly 1.5 million people and managing a budget of more than £3 billion. Its decisions shape roads, transport, schools, libraries, social care and other services that Havant families use every week.

For Havant itself, the headline is just as punchy: Havant Borough Council remains under no overall control.

That means no single party has a simple majority grip on the council chamber. Deals, discipline, alliances and awkward votes now matter as much as manifesto slogans.

## COUNTY CONTROL GONE

According to ITV Meridian's Friday afternoon update, the new Hampshire County Council make-up stood at: Conservatives 27, Liberal Democrats 26, Reform UK 20, Green Party 1, Labour 1, Independent 1, Whitehill & Bordon Community Party 1 and Community Campaign (Hart) 1.

That is a knife-edge council by any local government standard.

The Conservatives remain the largest single group by one seat, but that is not the same as control. The Liberal Democrats are breathing down their necks, Reform UK has arrived with a large block of councillors, and smaller parties and independents could suddenly matter in close votes.

For Havant voters, the county result will be felt in practical ways. Hampshire handles many of the services that make daily life work or grind to a halt: potholes, school places, road safety, public transport, libraries, care packages and wider infrastructure.

A hung county council can mean more negotiation and more scrutiny. It can also mean slower decisions if political groups cannot agree.

## GREEN BREAKTHROUGH IN EMSWORTH AND ST FAITHS

One of the most eye-catching local details came in Emsworth and St Faiths.

ITV Meridian reported that the Green Party took a seat from the Conservatives in Emsworth and St Faiths. In a county-wide election dominated by the Tory collapse, Liberal Democrat gains and Reform UK's surge, that single Green win stands out locally.

Emsworth and St Faiths is not a symbolic dot on a map. It covers communities with live debates about planning, water quality, transport links, local identity, coastal pressure and the future shape of services.

A Green gain there sends a clear message: environmental and community issues are not fringe concerns for voters on the Havant side of the county map.

It also means Havant's political geography looks more complicated than ever. The borough now sits inside a county council where the old certainties have cracked.

## BOROUGH STILL HUNG

The borough contest was also closely watched.

The Manchester Evening News, in its election results coverage, reported that 12 of Havant Borough Council's 36 seats were up for grabs, with one councillor elected in each ward. The contested wards included Bedhampton, Cowplain, Emsworth, Hart Plain, Havant St Faith's, Hayling East, Hayling West, Leigh Park Central & West Leigh, Leigh Park Hermitage, Purbrook, Stakes and Waterloo.

That is a broad sweep of the borough: coastal communities, estates, town-centre neighbourhoods and suburban wards all had a say.

ITV Meridian reported that Havant Borough Council remains under no overall control. In plain English, the borough is still politically unsettled.

That matters because Havant is already facing huge questions: town centre regeneration, housing pressure, council finances, seafront and open-space protection, public confidence in local services and the looming reorganisation of councils across Hampshire.

A council with no overall control is not automatically a bad thing. It can force compromise and stop one group from bulldozing decisions through. But it can also produce stalemate, especially when parties are already positioning themselves for the next big local government shake-up.

## LEIGH PARK, EMSWORTH AND HAVANT ALL IN THE MIX

This was not an election happening somewhere else.

Leigh Park voters were involved through both Leigh Park Central & West Leigh and Leigh Park Hermitage. Emsworth had borough and county attention. Havant St Faith's featured in the borough contest and in the wider Emsworth and St Faiths county story.

For residents, the big question now is simple: what changes?

Will roads get fixed faster? Will town centres get more focus? Will the borough's voice be louder or quieter as county-level politics becomes more fractured? Will Reform's county surge change the tone of local debate? Will the Liberal Democrats use their county gains to push harder on services? Can the Conservatives recover ground after losing control? And what does a Green foothold mean for planning and environmental campaigns around Emsworth and the coast?

Those questions will not be answered by one count-day headline.

They will be answered in committee rooms, budget meetings and the gritty decisions that follow after the posters come down.

## LAST DANCE FOR OLD COUNCILS?

There is another twist.

ITV Meridian noted that, if government reforms go ahead, people could next year vote for new “super” authorities as part of local government reorganisation. The report said new South East and South West Hampshire authorities, along with Mid Hampshire and North Hampshire councils, could be formed in 2028.

For Havant, that is massive.

The borough has already been pulled into fierce debate over whether its current council should disappear into a larger South East Hampshire authority. If these really are among the final elections before reorganisation reshapes the map, every result carries extra weight.

Councillors elected now may be helping steer Havant through the last chapter of the borough council as residents know it.

## WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

The immediate result is uncertainty — but also opportunity.

No overall control at borough level means Havant's councillors will need to work across political lines or risk looking chaotic. No overall control at county level means Hampshire's biggest decisions will need support beyond one party group.

For voters tired of tribal politics, that could be refreshing. For residents who just want bins collected, roads repaired and services protected, it could be nerve-racking.

The ballot boxes have been opened. The old county order has been broken. Havant remains hung.

Now comes the harder part: turning election-night shocks into decisions that actually improve life in Havant, Leigh Park, Emsworth, Bedhampton, Hayling Island and the rest of the borough.

Sources: ITV Meridian report, “Local Elections 2026: Conservatives lose grip on Hampshire for first time in almost 30 years”, updated 8 May 2026; Manchester Evening News report, “Havant local election results 2026 in full”, published 7 May 2026; Havant Borough Council election notices for the 7 May 2026 borough and Hampshire County Council elections.