A lively debate on the ‘State of the Island’, organised by Island Echo and the Isle of Wight Observer, saw an audience of 200 Islanders pack into the Riverside Centre on Friday, with many thousands more watching online.
The debate, which raised some of the most pressing issues currently facing the Isle of Wight, was held as part of Indie News Week – recognising the importance of the independent news sector in the United Kingdom.
A high-calibre panel of 7 members included local MPs Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) and Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West), Council leader Cllr Phil Jordan, Joe Smyth (Chief Officer, Isle of Wight NHS Trust), Steven Holbrook (CEO, IW Chamber), Sir Paul Kenny (former General Secretary, GMB) and Laura Baxter (Head of Marketing, Blackgang Chine).
The meeting was ably chaired by Marc Morgan Huws, Chief Executive of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
The debate was constructive throughout with a complete absence of party political bickering and point scoring, with it clear that panellists were putting the Island first. An example of the lack of rancour was the praise given towards the work of Conservative MP Joe Robertson from Trade Unionist Paul Kenny (although he conceded this wouldn’t be enough to get his vote).
The first question concerned the state of the Island roads and roadwork delays.
Cllr Phil Jordan claimed the Council weren’t responsible for this as utility companies had emergency powers to close roads. Joe Robertson complained that communication was often poor and there was too much risk aversion. Richard Quigley blamed a lack of investment over 15 years. Steven Holbrook stated that the impact on business needed to be recognised.
The discussion then moved on to how to support farming, given that there were now only 5 dairy farms remaining in business on the Island.
Steven Holbrook believed the Island had much to be proud of and that regenerative farming was up with the best in the country.
Richard Quigley noted that he spoke with the NFU at least once a fortnight and said he would like to see local councils use more locally sourced food products. Joe Robertson thought we had become too complacent about food security. Cllr Jordan said that the future of Island farms was in the hands of Islanders and that if we didn’t buy local our producers would struggle.
The next issue under discussion was care homes and the future of Mountbatten.
Joe Smyth emphasised that the Isle of Wight NHS Trust does not fund Mountbatten. He claimed that part of the problem was the population structure of the Island, with people moving here in their 60s and believed more should be done to help young Islanders.
Cllr Jordan revealed that 80% of the Council budget was spent on social care, which created a huge funding problem. Joe Robertson lamented that successive governments had failed to tackle the care home issue and hoped that Minister Wes Streeting would be successful in his reforms. Richard Quigley believed we should celebrate everything Mountbatten does and that he would do everything he could in its support.
The debate then moved on to the vexed issue of the ferries.
Richard Quigley claimed this was the problem he spent most time on and that it was in everyone’s interest that he and Joe Robertson worked together to solve it. Joe Robertson agreed with his political rival and stated that it would only serve the interests of the ferry companies were the cross-Solent connectivity debate to be politicised.
Joe Smyth complained that health professionals were put off coming here by the cost of transport. Sir Paul Kenny thought the ferries should return to democratic control. Steven Holbrook lamented that nothing would change without government intervention.
A further concern was the 26% decline in tourist numbers over 5 years.
Laura Baxter noted that tourism made up 38% of the Island’s economy and thought Visit Isle of Wight could do better. Steven Holbrook suggested we sometimes offered a 2nd rate product. Richard Quigley thought we should believe in ourselves and not talk ourselves down. Joe Robertson blamed the fall in tourist numbers primarily on the cost and unreliability of the ferries.
The panellists were then asked what the Island could do better.
Joe Robertson wanted to see a coordination of strategy and a greater degree of joined up thinking. Richard Quigley believed we needed to decide what we wanted the Isle of Wight to look like and plan for this. Phil Jordan said we needed to fix the roads. Steven Holbrook sought an easier place to do business. Laura Baxter urged us to be positive and be our own PR agency.
The final question concerned the considerable delays when it comes to the coronial service.
Joe Robertson noted that the Isle of Wight had the worst backlog of cases in the country and that the coroner, Caroline Sumeray, was more concerned with his taking photos than this lamentable record. Richard Quigley agreed with the Conservative MP.
Council Leader Phil Jordan also concurred with the sentiments of the MPs, simply stating that the coroner service wasn’t fit for purpose.
The meeting ended with a passionate question from Sahara King – mother of an Arreton Primary School pupil – on the closure of her child’s school.
Chairman Marc Huws regretted that the meeting had run out of time. However, it was emphasised that Island Echo and Isle of Wight Observer would hold future debates to allow all Islanders the opportunity to voice their opinions and hold their elected representatives to account.
A deep dive into each of the most important issues raised at the State of the Island debate will by published in the coming days.
Island Echo and IW Observer have agreed to explore the options for hosting another State of the Island Debate in the coming months…
VIDEO – With thanks to Wight Productions
The most unexpected shocking point that came out of the excellent debate was from Phil Jordan stating that despite 100 million pounds used to pay for adult social care they were having to place people in homes on the mainland because it is cheaper
Everything on the island is too expensive.
Nowdays many businesses are charging
London or more prices for meals and drinks,
some businesses are even adding a service charge
to the bill.
It is a greedy island.
Great initiative, did anything concrete come out of the meeting? Will those proposals be published?
Sadly it will all be a waste of time.
It was the islands own version of Question Time
and what does that achieve!
The drop in tourism is obvious.
Expensive ferry fares.
50p to use toilets.
Nightly charge of £2 to park along seafronts
Holidaymakers do not need the extra expensive
especially after paying extortionate accommodation
costs to stay on the island.
It makes me wonder if the island authorities are
Anti-tourism