By Isle of Wight Observer
The leader of the Isle of Wight Council is to stand down next week just before Wednesday’s full council meeting at 6pm.
Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox’s decision to resign comes after a bizarre game of ‘hokey-cokey’ on whether she would face a vote of no confidence in her leadership. Her statement confirmed that she would be proposing fellow Alliance member, Cllr Phil Jordan, to take over the leadership role.
When Cllr Suzie Ellis (pictures above) took over leading the Tory Group in July she said she wanted to work with the Alliance and refused to support a vote of no confidence in Cllr Peacey-Wilcox, proposed by the Empowering Islanders (EI) group led by Cllr Chris Jarman, claiming that he was a bully. She told other councillors, including Labour’s Richard Quigley, that Cllr Jarman should not be allowed anywhere near power and poked fun at other members of the EI group.
It took just a month for Cllr Ellis to completely U-turn, putting forward her own vote of no confidence in Cllr Peacey-Wilcox for next week’s council meeting. This week Cllr Ellis confirmed that she would be standing to become leader of the IW Council and issued a press release saying: “In terms of the appointment of Cabinet Members, I will not be making any announcements – or any commitments – until and if I am elected as leader.”
On planning, Cllr Ellis said she would: “Seek consensus on the best way forward for the Island Planning Strategy.”
Clearly putting aside any reservations she had about the man who “should not be allowed anywhere near power,” the following day she sent an email to Cllr Jarman saying: “I think we made clear last night the direction of travel regarding the financial portfolio. The group would be comfortable if the position was to be given to yourself” and “Regarding EC [Exceptional Circumstances in planning law], we are all very keen to hear from Peter [Cllr Spink who resigned from the Tory Group] as to how he would wish to progress the EC case and are keen to support him in doing so as soon as possible.”
When asked by the IW Observer whether it was her press release or her email to Cllr Jarman that reflected the true position, Cllr Ellis claimed: “There is nothing in my email to Cllr Jarman that conflicts with what was in my press release” and “It cannot come as any surprise that members are having dialogue about possible future arrangements, particularly given the alternative is for the current leadership to be replaced by another Alliance member. The latter would not represent the change the council needs.”
However, the IW Observer has been told that Cllr Jarman has not unreasonably asked for the promises he has been given verbally in exchange for his group’s support for Cllr Ellis’s power-grab in writing, and she has discussed with her group whether she should do so. At the time of going to press it was unclear whether Cllr Ellis was prepared to put the details of her behind-the-scenes horse-trading to paper.
What seems clear is that Cllr Ellis’s words about wanting “what is best for the Island and its residents” have been replaced with a decision that the IW Council being led by her is what is “best” for us.
Next Wednesday’s IW Council meeting should be interesting. Meanwhile, perhaps the Tory group will have to agree amongst themselves that, in the words of our late Queen, “recollections may vary” when it comes to what their new leader’s words might mean.
You can read this week’s Vectis View by Cllr Peacey-Wilcox about her decision to resign on page 21.
