News
September 2025
Hampshire MPs back five unitary council proposal
12 Hampshire MPs have written to the Government backing the proposal for five unitary councils submitted by 11 councils across Hampshire.
Full transcripts of the letters can be found at the bottom of this page.
Conservative MPs wrote to Government on 25 September:
The Rt Hon Sir Desmond Swayne, Member of Parliament for New Forest West
The Rt Hon Kit Malthouse, Member of Parliament for North West Hampshire
Paul Holmes, Member of Parliament for Hamble Valley
Labour MPs wrote to the Government on 2 September:
Alex Baker MP - Member of Parliament for Aldershot
Satvir Kaur MP - Member of Parliament for Southampton Test
Amanda Martin MP - Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North
Luke Murphy MP - Member of Parliament for Basingstoke
Darren Paffey MP - Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen
Richard Quigley MP - Member of Parliament for Isle of Wight West
Liberal Democrat MPs wrote to the Government on 15 September:
Liz Jarvis MP - Member of Parliament for Eastleigh
Danny Chambers MP - Member of Parliament for Winchester
Alex Brewer MP - Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire
Full letter transcripts
Labour MPs letter, 2 September 2025:
“Dear Minister McMahon,
As Labour Members of Parliament representing communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, we write to express our united support for the joint proposal for local government reorganisation submitted by the 12 councils in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
This proposal, to create four new unitary councils for mainland Hampshire while retaining the Isle of Wight as an independent island authority, offers a clear, pragmatic, and future-focused vision for how local government should serve our residents.
At its core is a commitment to building councils that are local enough to remain rooted in their communities, yet large enough to be financially resilient and deliver sustainable public services. Four new unitary authorities covering around two million people on the mainland will provide the efficiency and scale the government seeks, without losing the close connection residents value. Crucially, this structure also creates a fair and balanced Mayoral Combined Authority, ensuring equal representation from every part of Hampshire which is exactly what our constituents have told us matters most.
We support this proposal because it will:
Drive economic growth and address housing needs with a strategic, locally informed approach.
Provide opportunities for radical improvements in connected regional transport and skills.
Deliver high-quality, sustainable public services tailored to local priorities.
Achieve significant savings while unlocking the full potential of public service reform.
Enable effective devolution, working closely with the Isle of Wight Council and the new elected Mayor.
Empower communities by giving residents a genuine voice in local decision-making.
Effective governance is not just about administrative boundaries, it is about serving communities with coherent and connected demographics. Grouping together areas with similar population needs, economic profiles, and patterns of daily life ensures that services can be delivered more effectively, more efficiently, and with greater value for money. We are confident this proposal best reflects those principles.
We are however very concerned by the alternative proposal from Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council. This would create unwieldy authorities with disconnected and diverse populations, making it harder to design services that meet the needs of all residents. This proposal, which brings together a disparate collection of unconnected communities, lacks strategic coherence and risks undermining the transformation of local authority services.
We therefore urge you to endorse and implement the proposal from the 12 councils to create four new mainland unitary authorities with the Isle of Wight remaining an independent island unitary authority. It is the plan that will best serve the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, delivering effective governance, strong local identity, and real value for every community.
Kind regards,
Alex Baker
Member of Parliament for Aldershot
Satvir Kaur
Member of Parliament for Southampton Test
Amanda Martin
Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North
Luke Murphy
Member of Parliament for Basingstoke
Darren Paffey
Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen
Richard Quigley
Member of Parliament for Isle of Wight West”
Liberal Democrat MPs’ letter, 15 September 2025:
“Dear Alison,
As Liberal Democrat MPs representing Hampshire, we are writing to you to express our support for the joint proposal for local government reorganisation submitted by the 12 district and borough councils in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
We are deeply concerned that the proposal submitted by Hampshire County Council to create three mainland unitary authorities while retaining the Isle of Wight as a separate island authority, would force together currently disconnected communities with little thought to existing services or long-term strategic planning. Any plan must consider shared needs and identities of Hampshire’s communities, work, education, health and travel patterns, and economic profiles if these governance structures are to succeed.
Local government reorganisation presents the opportunity to redraw local government boundaries in a way that makes sense for the next 50 years. Sense of place and coherent identity, structure, and local connections should shape the geographies of proposed authorities. While this process must create councils that are large enough to be financially resilient and have the ability to deliver value for money, any proposal that loses the close connection that residents have with their local authority would constitute a failure to deliver devolution.
The joint proposal submitted by Hampshire’s 12 councils represents a coherent approach which truly considers the current and future needs of residents across the county. We believe this plan can best deliver high-quality and sustainable public services which are tailored towards the communities these authorities will serve and create an effective structure to best deliver on the priorities of the directly-elected mayor.
We urge you to implement the proposal from the 12 councils to create four mainland unitary authorities with the Isle of Wight remaining a separate unitary authority. This is a once in a generation opportunity to deliver effective local governance and a devolution settlement that positively impacts Hampshire and its residents.
Yours sincerely,
Liz Jarvis MP
Member of Parliament for Eastleigh
Danny Chambers MP
Member of Parliament for Winchester
Alex Brewer MP
Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire”
Conservative MPs’ letter 25 September 2025:
“Dear Minister,
As Conservative members of parliament representing communities in Hampshire, we write to express our support for the joint proposal for local government reorganisation submitted by the 12 councils in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
This proposal, to create four new unitary councils for mainland Hampshire while retaining the Isle of Wight as an independent island authority, offers a clear, pragmatic, and future-focused vision for how local government should serve our residents.
At its core is a commitment to building councils that are local enough to remain rooted in their communities, yet large enough to be financially resilient and deliver sustainable public services. Four new unitary authorities covering around two million people on the mainland will provide the efficiency and scale the government seeks, without losing the close connection residents value. Crucially, this structure also creates a fair and balanced Mayoral Combined Authority, ensuring equal representation from every part of Hampshire which is exactly what our constituents have told us matters most.
We support this proposal because it will:
· Drive economic growth and address housing needs with a strategic, locally informed approach.
· Deliver high-quality, sustainable public services tailored to local priorities.
· Achieve significant savings while unlocking the full potential of public service reform.
· Enable effective devolution, working closely with the Isle of Wight Council and the new elected Mayor.
· Empower communities by giving residents a genuine voice in local decision-making.
Effective governance is not just about administrative boundaries — it is about serving communities with coherent and connected demographics. Grouping together areas with similar population needs, economic profiles, and patterns of daily life ensures that services can be delivered more effectively, more efficiently, and with greater value for money. This proposal reflects those principles; the alternative does not.
We are very concerned by the alternative proposal from Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council. This would create unwieldy authorities with disconnected and diverse populations, making it harder to design services that meet the needs of all residents. This proposal, which brings together a disparate collection of unconnected communities, lacks strategic coherence and risks undermining the transformation of local authority services.
We therefore urge you to endorse and implement the proposal from the 12 councils to create four new mainland unitaries with the Isle of Wight remaining an independent island unitary authority. It is the plan that will best serve the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, delivering effective governance, strong local identity, and real value for every community.
Yours sincerely,
The Rt Hon Sir Desmond Swayne, Member of Parliament for New Forest West
The Rt Hon Kit Malthouse, Member of Parliament for North West Hampshire
Paul Holmes, Member of Parliament for Hamble Valley”