Government approves Hampshire for fast-track devolution scheme

The Government has announced that Hampshire and the Solent region will be part of the devolution fast-track initiative.

As a result of this decision, the upcoming county council election has been cancelled and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council will likely be absorbed into a larger, unitary council in the coming years.

Devolution will provide governing bodies in Hampshire with greater local control over areas such as education, transport and health services.

The decision to fast-track the region application will establish a new Strategic Mayoral Authority for Southampton, Portsmouth, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight, with elections for the new mayor likely to be held in May 2026.

As well as promoting the interests of the wider region to central Government, the mayor would work together with local council leaders to make decisions about how to allocate regional funding.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced yesterday (February 5) six new potential devolution areas, these are Cumbria, Cheshire and Warrington, Greater Essex, Hampshire and Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton.

Ms Rayner told the Commons: “These places will get a fast-track ticket to drive real change in their area.

“While devolution can sound techie, the outcome is simple – it’s a plan for putting more money in people’s pockets, it’s a plan for quicker, better, cheaper transport designed with local people in mind, a plan for putting politics back in the service of working people.”

The decision, delayed from January 31, means that county council elections, due to take place in May 2025, are cancelled.

Alongside the devolution plans, the Government has also requested that Hampshire submits proposals for local government reorganisation.

The reorganisation aims to replace the current two-tier council system with new unitary (all-purpose) councils with the aim of simplifying how councils are organised and run.

Speaking last week before the announcement was made, North West Hampshire MP Kit Malthouse was sceptical as to whether devolution and local government reorganisation was right for the residents of North Hampshire.

The Conservative backbencher said: “It’s early days. I want to see what the plans are.

“There are risks inherent to it, but the Government have said we really don’t have much choice.

“If I had a choice, I’d stick with what we’ve got, but that choice doesn’t seem to have been made available to us.

“The question is can we negotiate a settlement which will be the least-worst option for North Hampshire and that’s what I’ll be focused on over the next few weeks and months.”

He addressed the fears of some North Hampshire residents that as a result of the upcoming changes, their council tax money would be sucked south into projects within larger urban areas of the county such as Southampton and Portsmouth.

Mr Malthouse said: “I think that fear is a warranted fear to have and I have not been an enthusiast for devolution in Hampshire for those reasons, and also the fact that in Basingstoke and Deane and in the other part of my constituency in Test Valley, we do have debt-free councils that after many years of careful stewardship have got themselves into a good financial position.

“Notwithstanding the political control of Basingstoke and Deane, that has come off the back off decades of work by councils of all parties frankly, and I worry about that being interfered with.”

He also feared that devolution could result in widening the gap of contact between residents and councillors.

He said: “I also worry about councillors being further away from the people they serve.

“My general and quite long experience now in all levels of government is that the closer elected representatives are to the people they serve, the better decisions they take.

“I worry about that with the local government reorganisation and this idea of unitarisation.”

Hampshire County Council has stated that devolution would be a benefit, with the process resulting in the transfer of greater powers and flexibilities from Westminster to the county accompanied by additional funding and investment.

The council stated that this shift “will enable local authorities to make crucial decisions closer to where residents live and work, driving economic growth, innovation and productivity”.

Hampshire County Council leader Nick Adams-King said: “This is exciting news for Hampshire.

“This will enable us to deliver the best possible future for our citizens and businesses, enhancing people’s quality of life and leading the way in the UK’s economic recovery over the coming years.

“In collaboration with our upper-tier partners, we have already begun to outline the opportunities that devolution presents; sustainable economic growth, reduced inequalities, and maximised net zero ambitions.

“We are committed to working in partnership across local government, businesses, education and the wider landscape of public sector partners to explore devolution’s potential for our area.”