Portsmouth Lib Dems claim victory as the Government takes their Hands Off Portsmouth!
Portsmouth Liberal Democrats have declared victory after the Government announced that it is withdrawing its Local Government Reorganisation decision in Hampshire. The Lib Dems have led the “Hands off Portsmouth!” campaign, which demanded a stop to the Government merging the city into a vast new “monster council” that would have seen local residents’ services cut.
Back in 2024, the Government forced councils to put forward merger proposals. The option ministers chose for Hampshire would have forced Portsmouth into a “monster council” that would have a deficit of £67 million on day one.
This comes after Portsmouth and other councils issued legal challenges against the Government over the plans.
In the House of Commons, the Secretary of State Angela Rayner confirmed the Government remains committed to Local Government Reorganisation. In the meantime, the Lib Dem-led City Council will continue delivering for residents.
Steve Pitt, Lib Dem Leader of Portsmouth City Council said:
“We’ve won. The Government has finally had to listen to the people of Portsmouth and have stopped their unfair attempt to force us into a “monster council”.
“What they wanted to do was always wrong, but now they’ve finally sat up and listened. The Lib Dems and I have fought and fought and fought for this. I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve saved Portsmouth from disaster.
“They’ve forced us to waste large sums of money on putting forward proposals that could have been spent on services for local residents. Now we can finally get back to delivering the services residents expect and deserve.
Charlie Murphy, Lib Dem MP candidate for Portsmouth South, said:
"I am relieved that the Government has backed down, but it should not have taken legal action to get here. 82% of people in our city said they did not want a new monster council. At that point, Government should have listened."
"The Lib Dem-led city council launched legal action against Labour's shotgun marriage for the city. It is a real shame our city's Labour MPs never spoke up for the Portsmouth about how reckless these plans were. Let's hope the plan never resurfaces."
ENDS