Election result: Conservatives keep control of Hampshire County Council

Published: 08:48, 10 May 2021

| Updated: 08:50, 10 May 2021

THE Conservatives retained control of Hampshire County Council at the local elections.

There were no major changes in this year’s county council poll as the Conservatives will continue to be in control of the council, writes Maria Zaccaro of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The Tories now hold 56 seats out of 78, with the Liberal Democrats remaining the largest opposition party with 17 seats – down two from what they held previously.

In the New Forest there was no change, with the Tories retaining eight of the 10 seats up for grabs and the Lib Dems holding on to two.

Lymington & Boldre has a new representative after Cllr Barry Dunning won it for the Tories, following the retirement of former member Michael White.

New Forest results:

Brockenhurst (Conservative hold)

Martin Ashman (Labour) 466

Keith Mans (Conservative) 3,329

Ruth Rollin (Liberal Democrats) 989

Katherine Wilcox (Green Party) 931

Dibden and Hythe (Lib Dem hold)

Dominic Boddington (Green) – 280

Christopher Harrison (Conservative) – 2,088

Katherine Herbert (Labour) – 281

Thomas Jones (Alliance for Democracy and Freedom) – 261

Malcolm Wade (Liberal Democrats) – 2,515

Lyndhurst and Fordingbridge Division (Conservative hold)

Hilary Brand (Liberal Democrats) – 1,063

Edward Heron (Conservative) – 3,027

Janet Richards (Green) – 928

James Swyer (Labour) – 443

Totton South and Marchwood Division (Lib Dem hold)

Helen Field (Labour) – 312

David Harrison (Liberal Democrats) – 2,303

Callum O’Driscoll (Green) – 249

Richard Young (Conservative) – 1,892

Totton North and Netley Marsh Division (Conservative hold)

Neville Penman (Conservative) – 2,821

Caroline Rackham (Liberal Democrats) – 905

John Rochey-Adams (Labour) – 410

Timothy Rowe (Green) – 315

South Waterside (Conservative hold)

Rebecca Clark (Liberal Democrats) – 884

Julie Hope (Labour) – 420

Alexis McEvoy (Conservative) – 2,218

John Pemberton (Green) – 215

Ringwood Division (Conservative hold)

Alexander Brunsdon (Liberal Democrats) 410

Nicola Jolly (Green) 645

Peter Kelleher (Labour) 772

Michael Thierry (Conservative) 2,439

New Milton North, Milford & Hordle (Conservative hold)

Frances Carpenter (Conservative) 4,119

Mark Clark (Liberal Democrats) 537

Anthony Law (Green) 539

Ian Linney (UKIP) 177

Christopher Main (Labour) 566

New Milton Division (Conservative hold)

Eloise Cleeter (Labour) 582

Jeremy Fenner (Green) 618

Melville Kendal (Conservative) 3,504

Benjamin Thompson (Liberal Democrats) 593

Lymington & Boldre Division (Conservative hold)

Jack Davies (Liberal Democrats) 1,241

Barry Dunning (Conservative) 2,313

Jacqueline England (Independent) 1,157

Verena Jolly (Green) 453

Jeremy Weber (Labour) 332

Further afield, the Lib Dems lost the Bishopstoke and Fair Oak division to independent borough councillor Louise Parker-Jones.

They also lost the West End and Horton Heath seat to the Conservatives.

Tory leader Cllr Keith Mans, who retained his Brockenhurst seat, said: “I had not expected such a good result. We polled more than 50% of the vote and returned exactly the same number of councillors than we did in 2017 thanks to the hard work by all our candidates and our supporters.

"This gives us a very good working majority to take forward our policies in the future. Our main aim now is to assist in any way we can to help Hampshire’s economy recover from the pandemic.”

Cllr Keith House, leader of the Lib Dems was re-elected in the Hamble division and said: “This has been a difficult year for parties in opposition to the Conservatives nationally. Liberal Democrats won six of the eight county divisions in Eastleigh which was remarkable.

"Winning all of Hiltingbury at the county level for the first time reflects the very hard work of Tim Groves in the area.”

It comes as Cllr Judith Grajewski, former cabinet member for health at the county council, lost her Chandler’s Ford seat.

Meanwhile, Labour gained two more seats, holding now a total of three seats.

The county council's new chair, vice-chair, leader and cabinet members will be announced at the annual general meeting on 27th May.

The results of the election of Hampshire police and crime commissioner are expected to be announced today (Monday).

The political make-up of the county council is now:

Conservatives – 56 seats

Liberal Democrats – 17

Labour – 3

Whitehill & Bordon Community Party – 1

Independent – 1

The political make-up of the county council going into the 2021 election was: