Political leaders across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are to urge the next Prime Minister to bring forward elections for the region’s first elected mayor, warning that delaying the vote until 2028 could cost taxpayers up to £7million.
Members of the Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority (HSCCA) agreed to write to the incoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, following the authority’s inaugural board meeting on 13th July.
The region’s first mayor had originally been due to be elected in May 2026, but the Government postponed the election until 2028.
During the meeting, members were told the standalone mayoral election is expected to cost between £6 million and £7 million, with a reserve already established to meet the expense.
Nick Adams-King, Conservative leader of Hampshire County Council and Chair of the HSCCA, said the arrival of a new Prime Minister presented an opportunity to press for the election to be held sooner.
He said:
“We will have a new Prime Minister within the next 7 to 10 days, and given that Prime Minister looks like being the former Mayor of Greater Manchester, then I think that gives us an opportunity to write to him, not only welcoming him, but also asking for him to allow us to put our foot to the floor with our plans.
“The sooner we have the mayor, the sooner this authority can properly undertake all of its functions and also receive the full amount of funding we have been promised by Government.”
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George Madgwick, Reform UK councillor at Hampshire County Council and an HSCCA board member, said bringing the mayoral election forward to coincide with local government reorganisation elections would represent better value for money.
He said:
“Their argument is they are doing local government reorganisation to save so much money.
“That’s the principle although I don’t agree with that principle. It would make a lot more sense to amalgamate the elections to actually save the taxpayer here money.
“When you are talking about figures of £6million to £7million just for a singular election that’s not on the same year as the proposed local government reorganisation elections it seems foolish.”
Under the current timetable, elections for new shadow unitary authorities are due to take place in May 2027, ahead of those councils assuming responsibility for local services in April 2028. The mayoral election would then be held separately later that year.
When announcing the 2-year delay, Local Government Secretary Steve Reed said the Government wanted “strong unitary structures” to be established before mayoral devolution comes into effect.
He said:
“This is because devolution is strongest when it is built on strong foundations, therefore moving forward we will ensure strong unitary structures are in place before areas take on mayoral devolution.”
