The Conservatives were the biggest spenders at Test Valley’s local elections, analysis of election returns has revealed.

The Advertiser went through the election expense returns of each Andover ward, and Test Valley Central, following the local elections on May 6. The Conservative Party spent the most overall, spending just under £7500 on printing, advertising and staffing during the campaign.

The Liberal Democrats came in second, at just over £7100, but also competed in the Andover Town Council election – which the Conservatives did not.

Rounding out the list were Labour, the Andover Independents, Reform UK, UKIP and the Greens, with the Hampshire Independents and independent candidates not spending any money at these elections.

Speaking on behalf of the Conservatives, Councillor Phil North told the Advertiser the spending was mostly on campaign literature to “give an account” of the party’s record.

He said: “We used the money we set aside for the elections in May primarily to produce letters and leaflets to explain what we’ve achieved over the last four years on behalf of local residents and our plans for the future.

“As well as engaging with voters online via social media, I still think it’s important we give an account of ourselves to all residents in writing.”

“To be clear, election expenses aren’t attributed to the taxpayer. They’re costs which are borne by political parties or individuals to engage with residents.

“The reason ‘expenses’ have to be declared is because by law their is a cap on spending to create a level playing field for candidates.”

The spending in each area may reflect the priorities of the different parties. For instance, the highest individual expense return at this election was for Conservative Councillor Christopher Donnelly in Andover West, at £1724.62 – roughly £60 under the spending limit of £1788.10. David Hall, meanwhile, competing for Test Valley Central for the Liberal Democrats, spent £1675.09 in his expenses, coming in second.

While the Conservatives won both of these seats on Hampshire County Council, the Lib Dems received significant vote share in these areas – 22.62 per cent for Andover West, and 24.64 per cent in Test Valley Central – and so perhaps reflect seats the Lib Dems could have won. However, these are also much larger geographical areas than other divisions, and so may also reflect costs associated with campaigning in these areas.

The vote share can also be used to see how much each party spent per vote. While Reform UK comes out first, with its £135 return and 84 votes, translating into a £1.61 spend per vote, it is more helpful to look at the larger parties. Here, the Liberal Democrats spent the most per vote of the three main parties, at roughly £1.03 per vote.

The Conservatives, though spending more, have a figure about half the size, at 57p per vote on average. Labour came in lowest, at 31p per vote, but had a number of candidates with no expenses, and received a lower vote share than the previous two parties.

Andy Fitchet, the chair of North West Hampshire Labour, said: “Andover Labour fully engages in the democratic process to offer an alternative vision for Andover. Part of that includes wisely using the donations we receive from members, affiliates, and trade unions to offer that vision to the electorate through print and social media.”

However, at a Test Valley level, the Conservatives ended up spending more – at roughly 79p per vote – on the campaigns of Jim Neal and Jan Budzynski.

More spending doesn’t necessarily equal success, however, at least not at a parish level. While Kevin Hughes won an uncontested Downlands election for Andover Town Council, the Liberal Democrats competed for three seats elsewhere and spent on these campaigns – but only won one following the election of two independent candidates, who spent nothing.

One of these independents, Cllr Stu Waue, told the Advertiser: “I'm quite proud of the fact that I got elected without spending a penny.

“Good financial sense is a quality I would look for in somebody who would be helping make decisions on spending taxpayers' money and to me it didn't make good financial sense spending to get elected into an unpaid position.”

Meanwhile, the Hampshire Independents, who also had election returns of zero in their campaign for Andover’s seats on Hampshire County Council, said that their returns reflected trying to engage those who wouldn’t normally vote in local elections, and by supporting other localist parties.

Alan Stone, from the party, said: “Our aim was to highlight that local politics needs to be directed by local needs rather than national party agenda.

“Most of our efforts were online, trying to engage with the 65 per cent that do not vote in local elections.

“Our politics resonated well within the community at large despite not having the resources to get to every voter, for a first election, we did very well.”

All parties standing in the May elections were contacted for comment.

Election returns by party

Election total

  • Conservatives: £7473.62 - 57p per vote
  • Lib Dem: £7106.86 - £1.03 per vote
  • Labour: £834.45 - 31p per vote
  • Andover Independents: £576.75 - 54p per vote
  • Reform UK: £135 - £1.61 per vote
  • UKIP: £115 - £1.01 per vote
  • Green: £10 - 1p per vote
  • Hampshire Independents and other independents: £0

Hampshire County Council total

  • Conservatives: £5869.89 - 53p per vote
  • Lib Dem: £5465.09 - £1.43 per vote
  • Andover Independents: £515.6 - 63p per vote
  • Labour: £445.43 - 22p per vote
  • Reform UK: £135 - £1.61 per vote
  • UKIP: £115 - £1.01 per vote
  • Green: £10 - 1p per vote
  • Hampshire Independents: £0
  • Connor Shaw: £0

Test Valley Borough Council total

  • Conservatives: £1603.73 - 79p per vote
  • Lib Dem: £942.11 - £1.28 per vote
  • Labour: £389.02 - 56p per vote
  • Andover Independents: £61.15 - 25p per vote
  • Green: £0    

Andover Town Council total

  • Lib Dem: £699.66 - 29p per vote
  • Michael Mumford - £0
  • Stu Waue - £0