Island Echo spoke with Labour Party candidates Emily Brothers (Isle of Wight East) and Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West) to ask why Islanders should trust them with their vote in the General Election on 4th July. The Labour Party has had a representative in every election on the Island since 1922 when Harold Shearman finished 3rd having secured 3,722 votes. Despite this, the Island has never returned a Labour MP.
Emily Brothers is contesting Isle of Wight East for the Labour Party. Born in Liverpool, Emily was diagnosed with aniridia when she was just 6 months old. As a result, she lost her sight in childhood. Emily – who studied at Teesside University – previously stood for Parliament in Sutton and Cheam at the 2015 General election where she finished 3rd and received 5,546 votes and for the Greater London Assembly a year later. She is a Sandown Town Councillor, Governor with The Bay primary and secondary schools and is an NHS Governor with Moorfields Eye Hospital. Emily has 2 grown up children and loves Sandown – the place she calls home – because of the revetment, cafes and eateries and the ability to relax by the sea and enjoy the waves lapping against the shore. 
What do you love about Island life and what do you do to relax? I enjoy reading and eating chocolate ice cream having become obsessed with the frozen desert when my nan used to visit me in hospital and bring a tub along with her. There are so many places that do a good chocolate ice cream here on the Island. If your party didn’t exist who would be getting your vote? The Labour Party will always exist. It’s not in an existential position like the Conservatives. Why did you join your party? I very much grew up in the Labour and trade union movement and when I was 9, my dad endured my years of strike action in the 70s. When I was younger, I needed to go and see a specialist consultant at a hospital in London, but my parents couldn’t afford it, and it was a collection at a picket line at Vauxhall Motors that allowed us to visit the hospital. The doctors decided that there was nothing that could be done, but when my dad tried to give the money back to the workers, they refused to take it, and so my dad got me a Perkins Braille Machine, something I still use to this day. Is there any issue facing Islanders that is of particular interest to you? I have a background around equality issues and sorting out those inequalities is of big importance to me, particularly for disabled people, who have faced difficulty during the recent cost of living crisis. So, tackling poverty and health inequalities is something relevant to lots of Islanders. What do you think is the biggest concern facing the Island and its residents? The economy is the big issue. We have had a stagnant economy over the last 14 years, and we need to stimulate it. There are levers we need to pull to ensure economic growth, and we need to refer the ferries to the Competitions and Market Authority (CMA) and the levers in Ventnor – because of the landslip – need to pulled too. What needs to done to see the regeneration of Island towns? There’s closed premises not just in Sandown but also elsewhere in the constituency in places like Ryde and Ventnor. I would want to encourage – as is Labour policy – reform in the planning system so that applications can be sped up and that we undertake inquiries into rents for businesses. The days of high streets just being about shops are long gone. We need to look at our high streets in different ways. Why should Island Echo readers put their faith in Emily Brothers and Labour Party on Polling Day? The last 14 years haven’t worked, and it’s time for change. It would be a privilege to represent Isle of Wight East on the national stage. Think about who the next Government will be, if it’s Labour then I’m your choice. If you want to get your future back then you need to vote for me, Emily Brothers, and Labour.
On the West side, Richard Quigley is contesting Isle of Wight West for the Labour Party. Richard Quigley grew up in Retford, Nottinghamshire, a coal mining area. He remembers the Miners’ Strike of 1982 from when he was growing up. Interestingly, his parents were Conservative councillors. Richard’s political awakening began when he left school for university and joined the protests against the poll tax. Richard has been a member of the Labour Party since 2015, having been inspired to join by the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, Richard first moved to the Island in 2003. Despite a background in engineering and logistics, he is the owner of fish and chip shop, Corrie’s Cabin, in Cowes and looks after the canteen at Vestas. Richard’s father-in-law was a Cowes window cleaner, and it was he who suggested his son-in-law set up his business there. Richard is married and has 2 daughters and a granddaughter and says he cant sit by and watch the Island slide into nothingness. Quigley- an Isle of Wight Councillor – garnered 24.3% of the votes during the 2019 General Election. 
What do you love about Island life and what do you do to relax? If it wasn’t an election period, you’d see me walking through town with 3 dogs. I still love cooking and although we haven’t done as much as of late, we love to travel around the UK. Who would you vote for if your party didn’t exist? If the Labour Party didn’t exist, its values would be found somewhere else. If you removed it right now, I think I’d have to say I’d lean towards an independent candidate who works solely for the Island. Why have you decided to stand for MP? Nothing is impossible, it just takes the will and the investment and that’s exactly what I want to do. Why did you join your party? At university, I started to realise that there was a lot of politics that was happening to me without choice, and I quickly realised that my moral compass wasn’t pointing towards the Conservative Party. For me, it was more about fairness, equality, social value and community. What are you doing differently in 2024 compared to when you ran in 2019? To get out there and speak to as many people as I can! Every time I speak to someone, I’m learning something new, and you find out how politics affects them in the real world. You never feel like you’ve done enough – there’s 55,000 people I need to speak to. People are telling me that they are switching their voting allegiance, so the campaign is going well. What do you think is the biggest concern facing the Island and its residents? It’s the ferries. That’s the big thing. Obviously they are very expensive. What’s more, almost 50% of Islanders are unable to travel off the Island regularly. Are you positive about the Island being split into 2 constituencies? We were the biggest constituency before and that was simply because we are surrounded by some water. 110,000 electors is too many, and its a lot of work for 1 person. Twice the representation in Parliament is a good thing for the Island, regardless of who it may be. Finally, are you confident? I’m not pretending that its not going to be tight. Polling has us neck and neck with the Conservatives, so every vote counts.
At least Richard Quigley gave a proper answer when asked who would he vote for if his party didnt exist
But he didn’t explain why he’d let the country down for the last 14 years!
he never answered when he was part of Cowes Town Council & asked to seriously help with 2nd home parking choking the town, he’s a champagne socialist of the highest order, a career politician make no doubt!
He runs a fish and chip shop, so obviously not a career politician and certainly not a champagne socialist.
you seen the prices in his chippy, hardly socialism, clearly not sharing it amongst us all, that’s for sure, not to mention the car he drives & his exclusive Island Sailing Club membership, real socialist is our Richard!
Plenty of money in selling fish and chips but hard work. BTW, Island Sailing Club membership costs £355 per year and it is hardly exclusive. You seem to think that socialists don’t like to make money or to run their own businesses, which is garbage. Socialists believe that a person can work hard and become rich but that no one should be poor. Pretty simple and morally acceptable. By contrast, the ruling class in our capitalist society feel that they have no moral obligation to look after the poor or share their wealth with those who have done all the work, which makes them parasites. The Reform party want to take this parasitism to another level by banning inheritance tax to make sure that family money is not redistributed.
maybe he should sell up before he gets battered with huge capital gains tax rises under Labour?
I’m not fan of tories but voting Labour is crazy. Everything they promise is going to cost money and that means higher taxes more than usual. Remember labour wanted the economy shut down along with masks and vaccines that were all lies. Socialism is not the right path regardless of how annoying sunak is.
A rather confused post.
Yes, what Labour propose is going to cost money. Money not being handed out to Tory suporters in return for shoddy supplies, not being watsed on vanity projects, not supporting wasteful and inefficient public services.
It’s going to take time to rebalance the source and application of funds. But the Tories are never going to do it. Labour can.
I suppose Liz Truss didn’t cost us anything then????
another rogue account mimicking myself, all rather flattering!
Socialism is the left path. The clue is in the name.
Please vote Reform if you can’t bring yourself to vote for the self-serving and duplicitous Seely. As a vote for them is a vote for Labour anyway, you might like to consider the Greens as a protest vote.
A vote for Deform is a vote to get rid of free healthcare and make people pay for treatment. No money, no treatment. Just like the USA.
Don’t vote Deform.
More plastic qwerty comments. Come on plastic qwerty, try to be funny or witty or something.
Anything but Labour because they’re the ones most likely to win: you’re hilarious.
How come the Tories tripped the national debt then?
Er, covid…
The money to pay the nation to sit at home doin nowt…..
Nothing on what Emily has done since leaving Uni, except fathering 2 chldren.
What experience and skills can you offer, other than ‘leaver pulling’ whatever that is
Have you tried looking into the candidate: https://www.emilyiow.co.uk ?
If these turkeys get in say goodbye to your pension triple lock guarantee and be prepared to see your pension taxed as well. Personally I will not vote for anyone. Whoever gets in on Friday will not be round to see what they can do for me and in 6 months 12 months or 2 years time nothing will have changed.
So you won’t be whining if they do get in, considering that you can’t be bothered to get off your backside to vote.
A vote for labour is a vote for more migrunts and the islamification of the UK
Migrunt?
Is that some sort of immigrant pig?
You know what I mean you woke fool!
The fact you can’t even spell sums up what sort of person you are.
Vote Labour is our only hope
Vive Le Pen! les anglais aussi se réveilleront et verront la lumière!
If the echo are going to abide by the rules of neutrality they’re cutting it a bit fine to publish a “meet the candidates” piece for the remaining three candidates.
It’s 3pm on the afternoon before polling day and we’re missing an independent and a whole party by my reckoning. Coincidentally, the post office seem to have accidentally failed to post any election material for that same party where I live.
Not trying to promote any particular party or candidate here, just observing the coincidence and wondering what went wrong.
There are no rules of neutrality when it comes to online, although we have of course be fair to all. The Reform UK ‘meet the candidates’ piece will be going live later this afternoon. Rachel Thacker did not respond to our request for an interview.
When will the Echo post an article about the Reform UK candidates, did I miss it ??
17:35 this afternoon.
Thanks for letting us know.
They have probably both resigned already!
Don’t forget to vote for Labour
Tomorrow will be the biggest Labour party victory of all time.
Go Emily go.
Personally I will be voting for Labour, time for change.
Labour are the only party to save the struggling National Health Service,
also they are the only party to help those families who have been
struggling since the pandemic and now rely on benefits.
Think carefully before ticking the box.
It’s Labour for me, things can only get better.