Conservatives win majority on Basingstoke & Deane Borough
Council local elections give conservatives clear majority after minority leadership previously
Last updated 9th May 2021
The conservatives have won a majority of 12 after the local elections in Basingstoke and Deane Borough.
The conservatives enjoyed important victories in Winklebury and Manydown, and Brookvale and Kings Furlong,
Former council leader Ken Rhatigan said he was particularly pleased with the majority:
"It (the majority) allows us to re-gear the borough to a post-pandemic world where we will have to support up-skilling re-skilling we have to be aware that the jobs we had before the pandemic hit won't be the jobs that come out of the recovery."
He added that some results surprised him: "Taking two seats in the Winklebury and Manydown ward is great news because that's an area where we are going to have a big influence not on just what is built there in terms of housing, but also we're going to have a country park there, that will feed into our climate emergency goals"
As for staying on as leader, Mr Rhatigan said he hoped he would be able to: "I feel I did a good job, obviously having been in the minority administration previously I feel there's more of an opportunity for my 'stamp', if that's the right way, to be put on the borough . I'm looking forward to the challenge and I'll obviously put myself forward for leadership and hope that the conservative group who will have the final say will endorse that leadership."
The new make up of the council is conservatives 33, Labour 10, Liberal Democrats 5, and independents 6
You can see the results in full here https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/election-results-2021