Prior to the election the Conservatives held a majority of the seats on the council. Following the election the council was left under no overall control, and the Conservative leader of the council, Alex Rennie, lost his seat.[2] The Conservatives remained the largest party, but a coalition of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Green Party formed to run the council, led by Labour councillor Philip Munday. He was appointed as leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 15 May 2024.[3]
Background
Since its creation in 1974, Havant has been a consistently strong council for the Conservatives. They have held majorities on the council since 1980, aside from periods of no overall control between 1990 and 2002, where the Liberal Democrats became the largest group on the council for 4 years.[4]
In the previous election in 2023, the Conservatives lost 5 seats with 39.4% of the vote, Labour gained 1 with 24.5%, the Liberal Democrats gained 2 with 20.6%, and the Green Party won their first seat with 14.3%.
Boundary changes
Havant usually elects its councillors in thirds, on a 4-year cycle. However, following boundary changes, all councillors were elected to the new wards.[5] The change fixes the number of councillors for every ward at 3, which reduces the total number of councillors by 2. Each voter could cast up to three votes. The councillors elected to each ward will serve two, three or four year terms, based on their relative vote share, with the longest term being served by the councillor with the largest number of votes.[5]
The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Havant Borough Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2024.[11]
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