The votes for the county council elections are in and the Conservative party has retained overall control of Hampshire County Council – and the new leader will be appointed on May 23.
Ken Thornber
The Tories have won 45 of the 78 seats on the county council, while the Liberal Democrats have 17, UKIP 10, Labour four, Independent one and Community Campaign (Hart) one.
The last election results in 2009 saw the Conservatives have 51 seats, the Liberal Democrats 24, Labour one, Community Campaign (Hart) one and Green Party one.
Andrew Smith, County Returning Officer and Hampshire County Council Chief Executive confirmed the next steps for the county council and how the replacement process for long-standing Conservative leader Ken Thornber would take place.
He said: “The majority party will now meet to consider its key appointments. The Full Council meeting on 23 May, will appoint the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Leader of the County Council. The newly elected Leader will make appointments to the Cabinet ahead of its first meeting on 24 June.
“The County Council could have at least four political groups and I look forward to working with all of Hampshire County Council’s Members to ensure that the Council maintains quality public services to the residents of Hampshire and continues to transform the Authority into a modern, efficient and innovative organisation, fit for many years to come.”
The turnout for this year’s elections was 31 per cent – so fewer than a third of those entitled to vote did so.