By Isle of Wight Observer
I am honoured to be elected as the new Leader of the Isle of Wight Council.
I accepted the nomination on the basis that I will act as Leader of the whole Council and the whole Island.
There has been too much factionalism and division in the Council and Island politics for far too long. Indeed, it is one of the reasons why the Council was labelled ‘dysfunctional’ in the report, produced by Richard Penn, late last year. As Leader, I have not joined, nor will I join, any political party or political group in the Council. I will treat the Council as a single group of 39 councillors and I will aim to guide, support, represent, and lead all elected members as one collective group.
Some incorrect, and in some cases offensive, claims have been made of deals being done or arrangements being made prior to the council meeting on Wednesday evening. Such assertions are false and unnecessary. They merely reflect the fact that some seem to be unable to get away from the partisan behaviour that has dragged the Council down in recent years. I hope this behaviour will be ‘called out’ going forward, and that it ceases to be something that both councillors and the public have to put up with. As Richard Penn pointed out, such behaviour was one of the reasons behind the diagnosis of dysfunctionality. It does not support good governance, nor does it support good decision making.
There are pressing issues that the Council clearly needs to address as best it can. These include the issues with cross‑Solent travel, the local economy, how our roads are maintained and, of course, devolution. However, the main issue must be our financial survival. This is crucial because, alongside these other areas we need to address, the Council is responsible for many essential services, such as children in care, waste collection, and the adult social care system. These are statutory services that people rely on the Council for from day to day. These services have to be maintained and supported. For many vulnerable people, they are crucial. If the Council is not financially stable, such services are at risk.
As we have seen in recent years, if councillors cannot work together and focus on these bigger issues, rather than just looking for the next political points to be scored, services and residents suffer. I have been heartened by the fact that the vast majority of councillors in County Hall now seem to have the interests of residents and local issues as their primary focus. I think it is fair to say that there were assumptions, in some quarters, that we might find ourselves being overtaken by a national political agenda. However, during the induction period, these fears have not been supported. I see a body of councillors who, while some may have ‘jumped on a bandwagon’ to help get elected, have the right focus and drive for what we as an Island need going forward. It is for this reason that I was happy to accept a nomination to lead the Council.
We are currently at a crossroads. However, if the initial impressions hold good, we have the raw material present in County Hall to enable us to move forward positively, and to do so in an atmosphere of collaboration rather than conflict, putting the Island, its residents, and communities at the forefront of our concerns and considerations.