Portsmouth and Hampshire's plans for devolution and Solent mayor get green light from government
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As a result of this decision, the upcoming county council election has been cancelled.
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 now likely to be held in May 2026.
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Hide AdDeputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has announced (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.
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Hide AdIn this regard, Liz Jarvis, the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, said the decision is “a disgraceful stitch-up”.
‘Momentous day for Portsmouth’
Portsmouth South’s Labour MP Stephen Morgan called it a “momentous day for our city”.
He added: “After being overlooked time and time again by the previous government, we now have the opportunity to bring investment to our communities, create much-needed jobs, and deliver prosperity to Portsmouth.
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Hide Ad“Being included in the Labour government’s devolution priority programme provides us with a once-in-a-generation chance to shift power out of Westminster into our community and put our city’s destiny in the hands of Portsmouth people.
“With strong local leadership and by working together we can bring this ambitious and positive change for local people and our community.”
Cllr Steve Pitt, leader of Portsmouth City Council, said he was pleased by the news and the city could “benefit sooner from additional powers and investment for jobs and skills, housing and transport”.
While he would have preferred not having a mayor, he will now focus on what can be done to “make a positive impact for our area, and one benefit a mayor would bring is a seat for our region at the Government's new Council of Nations and Regions”.
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Hide Ad"We're expecting government will fund the necessary changes without any impact on local taxpayers and once it has set out the next steps we'll work with our partners to move things forward and get the best possible deal for our residents,” he added.
The move also means people living in areas such as Fareham, Gosport and Havant won’t be heading to the polls to vote for their county councillors as planned in May as the elections have been postponed.
Hampshire County Council May 2025 elections postponed
Announcing the delay to elections, the Deputy Prime Minister told the Commons: “For certain areas, a significant amount of work is needed to unlock devolution and deliver reorganisation. For this reason, some areas requested to postpone their elections until May 2026.
“The Government’s starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there’s a strong justification for postponement, and the bar is high, and rightly so.
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Hide Ad“I am only agreeing to half of the requests that were made. After careful consideration, I have only agreed to postpone elections in places where this is central to our manifesto promise to deliver devolution.


“We’re not in the business of holding elections to bodies that won’t exist and where we don’t know what will replace them. This would be an expensive and irresponsible waste of taxpayers’ money, and any party calling for these elections to go ahead must explain how this waste would be justifiable.”
Good news for Hampshire’s most deprived neighbourhoods
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Nick Adams-King said he is "delighted" that Hampshire and the Solent have been added to the "once-in-a-generation" opportunity after submit eight attempts on devolution.
"I thank all Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight council colleagues for being so supportive and working in partnership to agree to the application.
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Hide Ad"There can be no doubt this is good news for our residents, particularly those who live in our most deprived neighbourhoods where we will now be able to focus our efforts.
"It is good news for our businesses who can expect a much wider strategic approach to economic development to deliver growth for our region and it is good news for our public services who will see greater powers, and funding, devolved from Westminster to our area."
In relation to the elections, he said that, while "no one likes to postpone" elections, he "hope" most residents, recognise it’s necessary for "us to do so until next year" to provide the "stability, the time and capacity to "enable us to focus on the vital task of getting devolution right."
Southampton City Council welcomed the news, and its leader, Lorna Fielker, said being accepted on the fast-track program is a “major step forward”.
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Hide Ad“I am pleased that, with the approval received today, the government is recognising the opportunity in the region and the contribution Southampton and its partners can make to the wider UK economy.
“Devolving powers from Westminster to a regional Mayor will mean decisions about our transport network, major infrastructure investment, employment support programmes and more will be made locally. It will also bring millions in additional funding to improve the lives of local people and drive economic growth.”
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