The leader of Hampshire County Council has pledged to mount a legal challenge against local government reorganisation (LGR) if re-elected.

Plans to pursue a judicial review were announced by Conservative Nick Adams-King following a row online with Liberal Democrat county councillor David Harrison.

The opposition councillor accused the Conservative Party of misleading voters in a community magazine and on social media.

In a post to his followers, Cllr Harrison said: “The fact is that it was the Conservative majority who forced through Local Government Reorganisation, taking up the Government offer of the fast-track process.

“If I was a Conservative candidate I would be frankly ashamed and embarrassed by this level of desperate dishonesty, designed to salvage a few votes just before the election.”

Responding, Cllr Adams-King challenged the accusations and questioned the Liberal Democrats’ record on proposals affecting the New Forest.

He asked the New Forest councillor whether he was denying that plans to split the Waterside from the New Forest had been proposed and promoted by Cllr Keith House, the Liberal Democrat group leader at the county council.

Cllr Adams-King said: “You didn’t vote against LGR, you voted against the county council’s proposal which would have kept the New Forest and Test Valley whole.

“While you and your New Forest colleagues might oppose option 1a, your colleagues elected elsewhere across Hampshire supported splitting the Forest.

“If your party takes control of HCC on May 7, are you really saying you will change the mind of your leader and all your colleagues from elsewhere who cannot wait to split the New Forest and Test Valley?”

In the comments section, former Southampton City Council leader Lorna Fielker backed Cllr Adams-King’s version of events.

“Tory Cllr Nick Adams-King version is correct,” she said.

“According to the reporting on the New Forest council, the Lib Dems alongside every other councillor sitting on that council voted unanimously in September 25 for their preferred reorganisation model. It’s right for people to object when they don’t get what they want but there seems a misrepresentation of the truth coming from Cllr Harrison.”

In a separate post, Cllr Adams-King reiterated that the proposal to split the New Forest, Test Valley and parts of Eastleigh was originally put forward and promoted by Cllr Keith, and supported by Liberal Democrat administrations across Hampshire.

He added: “It is true that some Liberal Democrat councillors in the New Forest oppose this. But their party colleagues elsewhere—and their own county leadership—support it. That is the contradiction residents deserve to understand.”

Following the debate, Cllr Adams-King said that if he remains leader after the elections, he will pursue a judicial review of the LGR proposals.

“These proposals do not meet the Government’s criteria and risk long-term damage to our communities and services,” he said.

“Residents deserve clarity, honesty, and a council that stands up for the whole of Hampshire—not carves it up.”