Joe Robertson has been appointed as a Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions in an Opposition reshuffle, becoming the first sitting Isle of Wight MP in 20 years to take up a government or opposition frontbench role.
The Conservative MP’s new position will see him focus on areas including welfare reform, employment and government spending.
Announcing his appointment today (Wednesday), Mr Robertson said he would use his new position to hold the Government to account in Parliament while also helping to develop Conservative policy.
He has identified getting people back into work and reducing overall welfare spending as priorities, arguing that the Government has struggled to deliver much-needed post-Covid reform of the country’s welfare system.
Mr Robertson’s appointment is a rare occurrence for an Isle of Wight MP, with no sitting Island representative having served on a government or opposition frontbench for 20 years.
The last was Andrew Turner, who served as a Shadow Cabinet Office Minister with responsibility for charities between May 2005 and June 2006.
Only a small number of Isle of Wight MPs have held comparable positions over the years.
During the Victorian era, Evelyn Ashley and Sir Richard Webster occupied senior government posts, while John Seely later reached the Cabinet as Secretary of State for War.
Liberal MPs Stephen Ross and Dr Peter Brand also served as opposition spokesmen, covering portfolios including local government, transport, Northern Ireland and health.
Sharing news of his appointment on Facebook, Joe Robertson has said:
“The Government has been struggling to deliver much-needed post-Covid reform of our welfare system, which must include helping people back into work and reducing overall welfare spending.
“The Prime Minister said yesterday that spending needs to come down but gave no details about how he would do it over 2 years on from the General Election.
“I will use my new role to hold the Government to account in Parliament and also develop new policy in this area – something I have already been doing with the Centre for Social Justice think tank alongside Liz Earle and Angela Rippon.”
Oh good. He can spend even less time solving the challenges faced by constituents in Isle of Wight East.