Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council, Portsmouth City Council and the Isle of Wight Council submitted a bid to government to be part of the fast-track devolution programme and this was agreed on 5th February. This means that elections for a new Mayor for the new strategic authority are expected to be in May 2026.
Devolution involves transferring powers from central government to local areas, enabling them to make decisions and manage services directly affecting their communities. It can include powers over transport, housing, education, healthcare and local economic development. The government wants devolution to be done through strategic authorities – so there would be one strategic authority for Hampshire.
The Government’s white paper says that an area can only receive significant additional powers if it has an elected Mayor, therefore we would have to have a single Mayoral Combined County Authority for the Hampshire area.
Please see this letter from the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution which includes more details about local government reorganisation and key timings
The government has today launched a consultation on devolution and so there is an opportunity for you to have your say here. The consultation is running until midnight on April 13th 2025
EHDC have created a webpage giving further information on devolution.