15th January Update - This petition was originally directed to call on HCC not to seek a delay. In this we can celebrate a success.  In an extraordinary council meeting on 12th January HCC voted not to seek a delay. However, the Council’s response to the Government was complicated by an amendment by the cabinet. While expressing support for elections to go ahead, their letter also states that holding the election this May is likely to delay Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). This puts the decision firmly with the government, but entices them to further delay the election as they will not want a delay to LGR.  The petition is therefore redirected to address the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness with whom the decision now lies.

In May 2025, the people of Hampshire were denied their vote. Now, it is at risk of happening again!

Hampshire’s county council elections were due to take place in May 2025. They did not happen. The Government created a "fast track" opportunity for councils to pursue devolution and postpone the elections which were scheduled for May 2025.  The leadership of Hampshire County Council took that opportunity and the elections were postponed until May 2026.  Sitting county councillors remain in post without a mandate.

The postponed elections are now planned for May 2026 but once more they are at risk of delay. 

An expired mandate...
The current county councillors were elected in 2021 for a four-year term that expired in May 2025. They have already remained in office beyond their original mandate.

If the May 2026 elections are postponed, residents could go six or even seven years without the opportunity to vote for who represents them at such a critical time. During that time, those councillors would continue making major, long-term decisions without ever returning to the electorate for approval.

This is not democracy deferred.
This is democracy denied.

Decisions without democratic legitimacy
Hampshire County Council controls services that shape everyday life for residents: schools and children’s services, social care, highways, public transport, and support for the most vulnerable.

Right now, decisions are being made about the future structure of local government itself, changes that will affect services, communities and representation for a generation.

Those making these decisions do not have a current democratic mandate. They were not elected to oversee local government reorganisation. They were not chosen to reshape Hampshire’s governance for decades to come. Yet that is precisely what they are being allowed to do without renewed consent from the people they serve.

This pattern must stop!

Far-reaching changes of this scale require transparency, public engagement, and representatives with a clear and current mandate. Allowing elections to be postponed again would set a dangerous precedent that elections can be delayed whenever change is inconvenient, that mandates are optional, and that the public voice can be silenced in the name of whatever excuse can be found.

That is not how a healthy democracy works.

Our demand

We call on the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness to ensure the May 2026 county council elections in Hampshire proceed as scheduled. 

It is worth highlighting that a political trap has been set by Hampshire County Council leadership in their 15th January reply to the Minister.  While expressing support for elections to go ahead, they also state that holding the election this May is likely to delay Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).  Presumably government will not want to delay LGR until the year of the next general election, and might fall into the trap of delaying the local elections to avoid this. This would be a mistake for many reasons, not least it would show a disdain for democracy, which would at this stage rest entirely with the government.

This petition is fully cross-party and non-partisan. It is about democratic accountability and not party politics.

Hampshire residents were denied their vote once.
Do not let it happen again.

Let democracy work.
Let Hampshire vote.