Reform UK Ends Decades of Conservative Rule in Hampshire and Essex

Reform UK shattered decades of Conservative dominance across southern England in local elections held on May 7, 2026, ending Tory control of two major county councils. In Hampshire, the Conservatives lost their majority for the first time in nearly 30 years, producing a hung council. In Essex, Reform UK seized outright control after 25 years of Conservative rule.

Voters headed to polling stations across Hampshire on May 7 in a contest initially framed as a tight two-horse race between Reform UK and the Conservatives. By the morning of May 8, results showed the Conservatives had collapsed from 50 seats to just 27 on the 78-seat Hampshire County Council, far short of the 39 needed for a majority. Reform UK surged from a single councillor to 19 seats, while the Liberal Democrats gained seven to reach 26, finishing just one seat behind the Conservatives. High-profile Conservative casualties included deputy leader Jan Warwick and cabinet member Lulu Bowerman. Chief Executive Gary Westbrook confirmed no party holds a majority, requiring cross-party negotiations before the annual general meeting on May 21.

In Essex, the shift was even more decisive. Reform UK won 53 of 77 seats, reducing the Conservatives from ruling party to just 13. Council leader Kevin Bentley lost his Stanway and Marks Tey seat to Reform candidate Andrew Harding. Reform swept all eight seats in Tendring, including every division within Nigel Farage's Clacton constituency. Farage declared the outcome historic and stated the Conservatives are dead in Essex, while Bentley warned Reform would need more than slogans to govern a complex county. Critics cited concerns about Reform UK's governance record elsewhere, including council tax increases in Kent and Derbyshire and plans to close care homes and cut adult social care funding.