Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the county council

County council

A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...

 that governs the majority of the county of Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district council

Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

s, and town

Town council

A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....

 and parish councils. The county council has 78 elected councillors.

Hampshire County Council is currently controlled by the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

.

Responsibilities

The council is responsible for public services such as education, transport, strategic planning, emergency services, social services, public safety and waste disposal.

The County Council has an award-winning in-house architectural design studio

Hampshire County Architects

Hampshire County Architects are the award-winning in-house architects studio of Hampshire County Council, England. They have a particular reputation for good school design...

, which has a particular reputation for good school design. They are notable by being the only sizeable public-sector

Public sector

The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...

 county council architecture studio remaining in the UK, following many years of outsourcing

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...

 to the private sector.

Local government

District and borough councils that govern within Hampshire include:

• Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
  Basingstoke and Deane
  Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the hamlet of Deane, some from Basingstoke....
  
  
• East Hampshire District Council
• Eastleigh Borough Council
• Fareham Borough Council
  Fareham (borough)
  Fareham is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Fareham. Other places within the Borough include Portchester, Stubbington, Hill Head, Titchfield, Warsash, Locks Heath, Sarisbury and half of Whiteley...
  
  
• Gosport Borough Council
• Hart District Council
• Havant Borough Council
  Havant (borough)
  Havant is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Havant. Other places within the Borough include Bedhampton, Cowplain, Emsworth, Hayling Island, Purbrook, Waterlooville and Widley...
  
  
• New Forest District Council
  New Forest (district)
  New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. It is named after the New Forest.It was created on 1 April 1974, and was a merger of the borough of Lymington, New Forest Rural District and part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District....
  
  
• Rushmoor Borough Council
  Rushmoor
  Rushmoor is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. It covers the towns of Aldershot and Farnborough.It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Aldershot and the Farnborough urban district....
  
  
• Test Valley Borough Council
  Test Valley
  Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. Its council is based in Andover....
  
  
• Winchester City Council

Elections

The most recent Hampshire County Council elections were held on 4 June 2009.

At the 2009 local elections

United Kingdom local elections, 2009

The 2009 United Kingdom local elections were elections held to all 27 County Councils, three existing Unitary Authorities and five new Unitary Authorities, all in England, on 4 June 2009...

 for Hampshire County Council, the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 had a 47.72% share of the votes, the Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

 had 32.89% and Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

7.07%. As a result, 51 Conservatives, 25 Liberal Democrats, one Labour and one Community Campaign councillor sit on the County Council.