Hampshire
English county; LGR priority area, five new unitaries planned with Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton.
Last refreshed: 10 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What does Hampshire LGR mean for local service delivery?
Latest on Hampshire
- What unitary authorities will replace Hampshire County Council?
- MHCLG decided on 25 March 2026 that Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities.Source: MHCLG
- When is the Hampshire and Solent mayoral election?
- Postponed from 7 May 2026 to May 2028 by MHCLG on 16 February 2026.
Background
Hampshire is a ceremonial county in South East England comprising Hampshire County Council and eleven district and borough councils, plus the unitary authorities of Portsmouth, Southampton, and the Isle of Wight. On 25 March 2026, MHCLG announced that Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities under the 2024-2026 Local Government Reorganisation programme.
The Hampshire and the Solent combined-authority mayoral election, originally scheduled for 7 May 2026, was postponed by MHCLG to May 2028 on 16 February 2026, one of four DPP mayoral elections delayed by two years. Voters in Hampshire still hold principal-authority council elections on 7 May 2026 under the current two-tier structure that will be abolished by 2027 or 2028.
Hampshire County Council is a long-standing Conservative stronghold facing its first genuinely contested election in years, with Reform UK targeting rural seats and Labour competitive in Southampton-adjacent wards. Whoever wins in May 2026 governs a lame-duck council: the five incoming unitary authorities will supersede it before the decade is out, and the new councillors will spend much of their term negotiating their own abolition.