The 2002 Fareham Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Fareham Borough Council in Hampshire, England. The whole council was up for election with ward boundary changes since the last election in 2000 reducing the number of seats by 11.^[1] The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.^[2]

Quick Facts All 31 seats to Fareham Borough Council 16 seats needed for a majority, First party ...

2002 Fareham Borough Council election

← 2000 2 May 2002 2004 →
All 31 seats to Fareham Borough Council 16 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Seats before 29 11 Seats won 17 (17 total) 14 (14 total) Seat change 12 3 Popular vote 29,673 23,067 Percentage 48% 37% Swing 9.5% 10.3%
Council control before election Conservatives Council control after election Conservatives

Close

All of the seats were contested after the wards had been re-organised.^[3] Every ward was contested by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, with Labour standing in every ward but one, and also 1 English Independence Party candidate.^[3]

The results saw the Conservatives remain in control of the council with a reduced majority on 17 seats, compared to 14 for the Liberal Democrats.^[4] The Conservatives lost a number of councillors, which they blamed on the boundary changes, while the Liberal Democrats were pleased with the gains they had made.^[4] The Liberal Democrat gains also saw the last 2 Labour councillors lose their seats,^[4] with the Labour leader Mark Prior losing in Fareham South.^[5] Overall turnout was the highest since 1996 at 35.68%.^[4]

After the previous election and immediately prior to this election, the composition of the council was:

After the election result, with new wards the composition of the council became: