A petition demanding mayoral elections across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight be brought forward a year has been launched by the Liberal Democrats as demand for funding and growth continues.
The online appeal urges Secretary of State Angela Rayner to move the vote from 2028 to May 2027 so the region can have the ‘growth, powers and funding we so urgently need’.
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.
A government spokesperson said earlier this week (Wednesday) that:
“This decision ensures the new mayor comes into office with effective and empowered local government already in place, helping them hit the ground running.
“Hampshire and the Solent already has new powers and investment to give them a headstart in unlocking growth and creating better opportunities for local people – with more to come following the mayoral elections in May 2028.”
However, Cllr Mark Rochell, Liberal Democrat councillor for Bembridge, said that by having the poll in 2027 over £500,000 extra per week could be invested across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight next year.
The petition said Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ‘won’t be firing on all cylinders’ because of Mr Reed’s decision to ‘delay’ the election of the mayor of Hampshire and the Solent until 2028.
It said:
“The region will miss out on millions of pounds of funding and mayoral powers, and the good growth that can come from that because of this decision.
“Please bring forward the election of a mayor for Hampshire and the Solent to May 2027 so that our region can have the growth, powers and funding we so urgently need.”
Cllr Rochell said that ‘far too often’ when it comes to funding allocation the Island seems to be ‘forgotten’.
“We cannot allow this to happen again.
“No matter your views on new mayoral regions, it is a fact that this process is taking place. With the new Prime Minister, mayors are being given more responsibility and power day by day.
“There is no point rerunning the old arguments. It is time for us to jump on board and grab the opportunities that are available to us now, rather than sit back and wait another two years.”
Phil Attfield, vice-chair of Island Labour, said Island Labour supports holding the mayoral election for the Hampshire and Solent Combined County Authority (HSCCA) at the ‘first practical and convenient opportunity’.
“In the meantime, we will continue to support the work of Labour’s elected representatives on the Isle of Wight to engage with the HSCCA to develop policy and take practical steps to benefit the lives of Islanders,” he said.
I forgot the Lib Dems existed, they have a valid point.