Both Island MPs have met with the new government’s front bench to highlight the increasing issues Islanders face with cross-Solent travel. Joe Robertson MP (Isle of Wight East) and Richard Quigley MP (Isle of Wight West) both promised at the election to work together on one of the biggest issues raised by Islanders. They have already demonstrated their willingness to work together for the benefit of the Island by spending their first few weeks in Westminster raising the issue with representatives of the new Labour government. Joe Robertson who met with Louise Haigh, Secretary of State for Transport, said:
“I pressed the case for government intervention in cross-Solent transport so that we are no longer beholden to an unregulated market where making money for shareholders is the primary objective. The Labour Government will be nationalising the railways via an integrated transport bill so this is an excellent opportunity to look at regulating ferries. The Secretary of State appeared genuinely receptive to the idea of including ferry services in her plans.”
Whilst Richard Quigley, who has been liaising with Louise’s team over the last 6 months, took the opportunity to make the Secretary of State for Business and Trade aware of the problem. Mr Quigley said:
“Whilst not specifically a problem for Jonathan Reynold’s and his team, he was shocked to hear of the increasing problems and cost of crossing the Solent. I explained that unreliable and expensive ferry travel has become a barrier to opportunity for individuals, but it is also affecting businesses. The new Labour government has a bold industrial strategy and the Island needs to be part of it”
“We’ve said all along that 2 voices in Westminster, speaking up for the Island, will be better than one. The growing issues with the ferries are too big to let party politics get in the way. There’ll be plenty of other issues we approach differently.”
Joe added:
“With a new government sitting on a large Parliamentary majority, and two MPs working together, we have the best chance of finally dealing with the ferries in a way that is fair for residents.”
Nice to see cross party cooperation on this problem.
Brilliant News ..Well done chaps .lets hope you manage to get something done !!
Thanks for taking away my winter fuel allowance Dick, give those on over 100k pa
22.5% take it from those who can’t fight back. Shame on you and your commy friends.
I agree, Well done Labour, let those on benefit, young or old, just continue with no loss of “income”
Those that still pay tax on their pension can just carry on funding the country…
election campaign….“We will not raise taxes on working people”
3 weeks later, “We’ll have to raise taxes” good old Rachel Reeves, it’s starting to unravel!
Both new MPs seem like decent people whose first priority is the welfare of the people on the Island. It is encouraging that they are working together which must be the route with the best chance of success. I hope their respective parties will give them the room to continue to co-operate in the interests of best serving their constituents. Well done, gentlemen. A good start.
Already doing more than the previous idiot in the job.
like what? spouting political rhetoric or actually producing results?
Action is needed to solve the problem, NOT sat down talking about it !!!
Prices need to be less and Ferry services need to be more
Reliable.
Good luck to you both….
Enjoy your term mr Quigley …with policy’s like cancelling the Rwanda scheme ,letting prisoners out early & stopping pensioners fuel allowance…your not be there long.
Well, he’ll be there 5 years, at least.
And if people can get to see a GP or dentist, can get their operations in a month or two instead of years, can be seen in A&E in a couple of hours instead of 8, they’ll get back in.
If they reduce the UKs reliance on immigration by ensuring British kids see engineering and medicine as viable careers, they’ll get back in.
If they reduce illegal migration by tackling the the trafficking gangs, they’ll get back in.
If they reduce poverty so there is less acquisitive crime and less reason to jail people for repeat pretty crimes, there will be more room for the worst criminals, and they will get back in.
So there is no chance of them getting back in then….
Well that’s good news ,not like the island councillors, bickering and trying to outdo each other …….
Long may it last ……
We wait with bated breath!
I’d love to hear how they are going to make a privately run company lower prices and make the service more sustainable. It’s like asking Premier shops to lower their prices cause they are expensive, will never happen….
It could be done easily.
If a family living in London live inside the congestion charge zone,
they only have to pay 10% of the charge, other persons living
outside have to pay the full charge.
So why can’t Island residents who are surrounded by water
only pay 10% of a Ferry Fare and persons living on the
Mainland pay for the full fare.
Increase fares for mainland persons and reduce fares for
Island residents.
Whilst I think it’s great that they are both working together to try to do something… (and I hope they succeed,.. we certainly need someting to be done)
and a Labour government is more likely to do something, than a CONservative one…
it does seem a little strange to me that an MP who stood for election as a CONservative,.. seems to be in favour of Labour policies (e.g nationalisation) rather than his own party’s policy of making profit for rich people from everything possible….
Perhaps he ought to change sides ??
Perfectly true, LIEbour are living up to their expectations.
I don’t recall them means testing the pensioners fuel allowance in their pre-election diatribe.
Make as much noise as you want about the ferries Mr Quigley, it is a smokescreen to divert the pain they are causing to pensioners.
“I don’t recall them means testing the pensioners fuel allowance in their pre-election diatribe”
True,.. but talking of lies,…if the CONservatives had been truthful about the state of public finances (and not lied about it and hidden it),.. then perhaps Labour would have been able to _not_ means-test it..
anyway why do rich pensioners need a winter fuel payment,…?
I’m sure it was originally intended to help less well-off pensioners,… which it still will..
Exactly.
The very people who bleat about “benefit scroungers” getting benefits they don’t need were happy to take a £300 benefit while sitting pretty in their mortgage free chalet bungalow.
I would guess if it were mortgage free it would be because they have paid off their mortgage and maybe even paid into a pension for 50 years.
If the winter benefit is to be stopped, it should be in its entirety and not left for the feckless to receive.
‘Rich pensioners” now that is a real, from the heart lefty comment. Do you mean those who have been prudent and saved for their older age, meanwhile often paying higher rate tax and national insurance all their working lives?
You do realise that the money “saved” has already gone to pay the awarded pay rise for the council workers, which, of course, you will be including them in your future “rich pensioner” insult.
74 days of Quiet Quigleys pledge to change ferry company operations within 99 days, can’t see to many changes yet Richard, what’s the plan?
The only considered plan is to blame it all on the “Tory’s fiscal black hole” when the 100 days are up with no progress.
I’m old enough to recall Blair using the same excuse during his whole “leadership” meanwhile borrowing more than any other government in history… oh and disastrously rewriting NHS doctors and dentists contracts from which we have never recovered.
The disastrous rewriting of Dr’s contracts we haven’t recovered from is the one imposed by Hunt.
The same Hunt bleating because his uselessness as Chancellor has been exposed.
If they are reading these comments them PLEASE consider a bridge to replace the Floating Bridge we have all had enough of all this cancelations / breakdowns / no staff/ maintenance issues inflicted on the Island people.
“they”??
if you’re referring to our MPs,.. I don’t think the FB has anything to do with them…
that piece of useless junk is 100% the responsibility of the IW council…
Best of luck with that!!!