The Leader of the Isle of Wight Council has committed that the Conservative Administration will put ‘equality of influence and community identity’ top of the agenda for the review of electoral boundaries for the wards that make up the Isle of Wight Council.
The Local Government Boundary Commission is about to launch a review of electoral ward boundaries across the Island because, over time, population changes and housing developments mean that some councillors are representing significantly more voters than the average, and other councillors are representing significantly fewer.
Based on figures from November 2016, the ward with the most voters per councillor is Whippingham and Osborne Ward (22% above average) and the ward with the fewest voters per councillor is Chale, Niton and Whitwell Ward (15% below average).
Cllr Dave Stewart says:
“It’s time to look again, through the completely independent Commission, at what tweaks might be made to ward boundaries to bring the numbers of voters in each ward closer to the Island average. But, what we don’t want to see is changes that draw lines through natural communities, breaking them up on the basis of arbitrary arithmetic. We’ll be in close dialogue with the Boundary Commission and will submit our views directly to them in due course, working to secure the best possible outcome for the Island.”
The Conservative Group’s response to the Review is being coordinated by Cabinet Secretary Cllr Chris Whitehouse who says:
“Equality of influence is fundamental to any democratic system, but we also have to respect community identity, so these Reviews often throw up challenges about how best to balance these sometimes conflicting principles. The good thing when it comes to boundary reviews is that anybody can submit their views when proposals emerge and the Boundary Commission considers every submission solely on its merits.”
Representatives of the Local Government Boundary Commission recently met with the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Isle of Wight Council to discuss the outline of the Review and will be undertaking a more detailed presentation to all Members of the Council, to which representatives of town and parish councils are also being invited, on Monday 4th December.
