The Isle of Wight is suffering a ‘huge financial disadvantage’ due to the ‘unnecessary’ delay of the mayoral election for Hampshire and the Solent, an Isle of Wight councillor has claimed.
Bembridge’s Lib Dem councillor Mark Rochell said that yet again, it feels like the Island is being ‘left behind’ at a ‘crucial time’ for local government, after the government last week launched what it described as the ‘biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation’.
A statement released from Andy Burnham’s Cabinet on 31st July said good growth requires a ‘fundamental rewiring’ of the way the UK works, surrendering power that for ‘too long’ has been held in Westminster and returning it to people and the places where they live, work and invest.
It mentioned agreement to overhaul the way regional government is funded, beginning by replacing grants from Whitehall with a share of local income tax for every mayor, starting in April 2028.
The Cabinet also said fiscal devolution will begin next year, with mayors keeping a share of business rates from April 2027 as well as securing powers to introduce an Overnight Visitor Levy.
Isle of Wight Liberal Democrats have said they are backing Winchester councillor Martin Tod, the party’s candidate for the Hampshire and Solent mayoralty, in his demands to accelerate the timetable for mayoral elections.
They said they will be coordinating with Cllr Tod and other councillors from the party to lobby government to bring forward the election to next May.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands the board members of the Hampshire and Solent Combined County Authority have already formally requested the mayoral election be brought forward from May 2028.
Cllr Tod said:
“The Prime Minister’s announcements about extra powers and improved funding are good news – but Hampshire and the Isle of Wight need more. A big disappointment is that the PM hasn’t said anything about the timing of our mayoral election which seems still to be delayed until 2028.
“Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are losing out in terms of the money we get and what we can do because of that delay.”
Cllr Rochell claimed that when a mayor is in place for the region they will control an investment fund equating to £44.6 million per year and until that time, funding is reduced to £17.8 million per year.
He said:
“This means that for every week that we are made to wait for elections we are missing out on over half a million pounds of funding that could be controlled and invested locally.
“The first acts of our new PM were to meet with regional mayors and begin announcements for new powers and extra funding. However, until we get the right to elect a mayor for our region, we are left with no one at the table.
“This feels yet again like the Island is being left behind.”
In December last year, Steve Reed, former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said the government is minded to hold the inaugural mayoral elections for Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Greater Essex in May 2028.
Steve Reed said:
“This is because devolution is strongest when it is built on strong foundations, therefore moving forward we will ensure strong unitary structures are in place before areas take on mayoral devolution.”
