The Isle of Wight looks set to be treated ‘as an Island’ by the Government when it announces the new post-lockdown tier system.
Local MP Bob Seely says he has been seeking assurances from the Government that the Isle of Wight will be considered independently to the mainland when the covid tier system returns next month.
Mr Seely said he was concerned that combining the Island’s infection rates with areas such as Portsmouth and Southampton – where rates were much higher – would skew the picture of what was really happening on the Island. He said:
“It would be entirely wrong to combine the Isle of Wight with mainland areas with higher covid rates. The Island is separated by several miles of water from these locations, and therefore it should be seen as an entity separate from its neighbours.
“I have spoken with the Secretary of State for Health, his advisors and Ministers over the weekend to make the case that when allocating tiers, the Island must be considered independently.
“It is important that Ministers recognise that we are an Island and I will keep making that case.”
Mr Seely said that, during his conversation with the Health Secretary over the weekend, Mr Hancock had indicated that the Government was looking to treat the Island ‘as an island’.
Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Dave Stewart, has said:
“I am pleased our MP is leading this approach to Government – it reflects what many Islanders feel.
“We have worked hard to keep our infection rates low and deserve recognition for all that effort. I hope Government take this into account as they finalise their plans and thank Bob Seely for making representations on our behalf.”
Details on which counties fall into what tiers will be announced on Thursday, it is understood.
We are an Island aren’t we ?…
Not legally. But be careful of what you wish for. They may extend this to other areas and slash the money we get from central government. They already did this with the post. There was a time that the Island was treated as the mainland and the post had to charge the same. Now they do not. Which is why a lot of eBayers do not post to the island anymore. To them it just as well as be 1000s of miles away.
No it is because Ebayers refuse to use Royal Mail.
The Royal Mail do not charge anything different to post things to the Island, it is just that an awful lot of sellers on e-bay do not understand that fact, and e-bay themselves are not interested as they are only interested in their own bottom line!
We are still treated as mainland for post hence the PO Portsmouth postcode.
This changes the dynamic on how the government treat the cross solent ferry services.
if the areas that the ferries go into are in higher tiers, then ferry travel to and from the island will be restricted. Equally if the island is in a higher tier, then ferry travel will be restricted.
this changes a lot and the council and government need to clarify what happens regarding the ferries and how it is policed.
Pity Dave Stewart didn’t stop authorities on the mainland sending people over to the Island for testing, that’s probably how a lot of Island cases occured.
What a wonderful contribution to the debate, from an MP, that decided to back Johnson as leader of the party. We do live on an island, but as long as any type of ferry travel is available the door to the virus is open. We must be in the same tier as our nearest city, unless, he is suggesting a full lockdown from the mainland, he can’t have it both ways
Personally I am amazed he even realised we are an Island,! He is rarely here and even rarer to get any sort of answer from email text carrier pigeon… We need wanted posters made up, nailed to trees, featuring “seldom seen” reward offered if anybody can spot him doing his job for his constituents!.
What utter nonsense, Bob fights for this Island. He is respected in Government and has already made an impact. He is supportive and very, very capable.
Pity this Island definition isn’t more clearly understood by ‘the authorities’ when it comes to how many houses it can support !!!
Absolutely JHVF, well said. Boris can stick his ‘build, build, build’. We are an island with limited infrastructure and should be treated as such……..oh but wait, only when it suits them!!!!!
When the EU wanted to give us money because we were an island, the Goverment said we weren’t Now that the Goverment have said we are an island after all, can we have the money we were owed during the years of EU membership back please!
Dave Stewart wants recognition? Really? For what? For being one of the worst councils I can ever remember in 60 years?
Sound like getting people nicely softened up for ‘freedom passes’?
The lockdowns have transferred billions of pounds from small businesses to big corporations and the people who always complain about big corporations are silent about it. Amazing.
I just think that we need clear guidance from the government and the council to know what the restrictions are. See I’m at college and I know that schools and colleges are open and we are allowed to travel to and from their for education. But I don’t know I think we all need to know what’s gonna happen next
So do 2nd homeowners count as “islanders” because they shouldn’t.
Heard outside my workplace “Oh we are OK, we have come over and have been here since the start of this lockdown” So damn arrogant.
We should be able to control who comes to the island, normally this time of year the island is full of the ‘turkey and tinsel’ brigade. The coach’s are full of people coming from high risk areas.
Charles,my grandchildren and I were on the Island in half term and while I agree that they really should not be sending coaches over there from anywhere at all,I must say when we were there we saw many islanders not obeying the rules ,older people trying to go into shops without masks on,school children on buses without masks on.Many people not even observing the social distancing.What I’m trying to say is if only EVERYONE did as they have been asked life would be a lot better.Take care and stay safe.
There’s something striking about the public’s reaction to lockdown no 2 being lifted next week… We have been conditioned to rejoice over minimal relaxation of lockdown rules, when in reality our freedoms are still hugely restricted. Also hidden away from public, but it has been stated “The government’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) expects a “high volume of Covid-19 vaccine Adverse Drug Reaction(s).”
Watch what you wish for.
If we are an Island which obviously we are, Can we have our own post code ?? getting fed up of my parcels going to Portsmouth for a day trip before I get them…And can we stop people coming to the Island spreading their germs ???
Just to address the “parcel delivery” comments…Hermes, Royal Mail and most of the other big carriers DO NOT charge extra for IOW deliveries, nor is there a delay of a day. If you get charged a surcharge for anything, you are being ripped off! The only time you should be charged, is if it is a “same day” delivery, or large freight whereby a dedicated vehicle is being sent over. So if a seller tries to rip you of, then just don’t do business with them
Infections kept low?