Defending Local Democracy

Alex has spoken out against the Government granting Hampshire Conservatives’ request to suspend Hampshire County Council elections, which were scheduled to take place in May.

The Government made this decision as part of its plan to reorganise local governments, which will see district and county councils combined into new bodies called Unitary Authorities.

It wants this to happen very quickly, and believes elections will slow down the process, and so is allowing some county councils to delay their elections, one of which is Hampshire.

Hampshire’s Conservatives know that residents are fed up with their poor governance, and requested that they be allowed to delay local elections, perhaps in order to avoid a humiliating defeat.

Alex has been a vocal critic of this decision, posting a video and a series of statements to her social media, expressing her outrage at the cancellation, and outlining her concerns.

In a joint statement with her fellow Hampshire Lib Dem MPs, Danny Chambers and Liz Jarvis, Alex asserted that residents deserved the opportunity to scrutinize Hampshire Conservatives’ disastrous record.

She also explained how she believes that it’s vital that the Councillors making the big decisions on issues like local government reorganisation and county finances have the proper mandate to do so.

Since the last round of County Council elections, Conservative governance and successive cuts to Council grants under the previous Conservative Government have led Hampshire to the brink of bankruptcy. Residents should be given the chance to elect new Councillors to take the important decisions about our County’s future.

Alex said: “Avoiding the electorate this May might be politically convenient for Conservative County Councillors, but it is wrong for Hampshire.”