The new leader of the Isle of Wight Council has pledged to do everything he can to work together with Councillors across the authority, after his group was criticised for a lack of action and collaboration.
Councillor Phil Jordan has secured the Alliance Administration’s position at the top of the Isle of Wight Council, after Wednesday’s deadlock vote to choose a new leader was broken by chair, Cllr Claire Critchison.
Cllr Jordan beat Conservative-hopeful Cllr Suzie Ellis, after Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox officially resigned earlier in the day.
After the meeting, Cllr Jordan said he was elated and excited about the big challenge ahead of him, acknowledging there were tough decisions to make and lots of problems to solve.
He said continuity was key, so ‘projects that have already been started are delivered and do not fall by the wayside.’
Answering some of the disquiet heard in the Council chamber, Cllr Jordan said it was clear Councillors were interested in a more collaborative approach.
He said the Alliance had already started to have conversations with the other groups about how they can work together.
Conservative Cllr Paul Brading said the Alliance had not delivered nor tackled difficult decisions, adding the Council needed a long-overdue leadership change and voted for Cllr Ellis.
Cllr Tig Outlaw, also voting for Cllr Ellis, said the Alliance had sat on its hands by not dealing with the issue of surplus places in primary schools and had failed the Island’s children.
However, Cllr Richard Quigley believed the Conservatives had ‘no meaningful plan to better the life of Islanders’ and voted for Cllr Jordan.
Cllr Karl Love, who caused the vote to fall to deadlock by abstaining, said the Council had failed to work together and had instead focused on tribal party politics rather than representing the people they were elected by.
Moving forward, Cllr Jordan has not ruled out a cross-party cabinet but said no decision had been made yet. He said it was something the current cabinet would be discussing in the coming weeks.
He said even so, the group was going to find some way of engaging with the other councillors that are not part of the Alliance.
Yeah right Phil. We wait and see when you offer any of the conservative group a seat on the cabinet…..
Phil Jordan was stopped by police at 23:45 on 11 October 2016 after officers observed a silver Range Rover driving in a ‘poor’ manner, drifting into the kerb and almost going into hedges. Officers observed the vehicle swerving and harshly accelerating. Police pulled the vehicle over and requested Cllr Jordan to provide a specimen of breath as they suspected he was drunk due to his slurred speech and glazed eyes. He failed to provide a specimen a total of 3 times stating he was ‘short of breath’ and as a result was arrested for failing to provide and taken to Newport Police Station. Cllr Jordan also failed to provide an evidential breath test – officers say he was not trying. A blood sample was then taken.
All drink or drug drivers should be banged up.
No place in society for such numpties.
Having pleaded guilty, Phillip Charles Jordan of Carpenters Road, St Helens has been sentenced to disqualification from driving for 20 months with a total fine of £370. Cllr Jordan has been offered to reduce the period of disqualification by 25% by completing a drink driver rehabilitation course.
The man is an absolute P***k. It lives near me and all I can say is if you thought the legal fraud council was bad before, wait for 12 months time.
The country is run by villains, so nothing different on the island.
Based on the details of his arrest, this grinning buffoon seems to have utter contempt for the law.
As do those who voted him in.
A really fine example of how you can get caught drink driving and still go up the ladder to gain a job of power. The system stinks. This person should never be given the job of council leader, let alone still be working in the council.
He will probably have no choice but to have a cross-party cabinet, given that the Alliance pledge (of change and listening to the public) has worn very very thin.
Still haven’t forgotten the absence of public consultation for the Ryde Interchange design.
I find it very strange that the now “Leader” of the IW Council is a Trustee of the Bembridge Harbour Trust and that in that capacity was part of the group that took the IWC to a Judicial Review. Surely a conflict of interest. As an aside Mr Jordan has not noted his involvement with this group on his register of interests.
Like I said previously, the conservatives need to start getting their heads around the fact that their party is about to drift into oblivion. They will never win another general election. Gradually this will filter through to every council in the UK. They are done, on all political levels.
And we are left with Cllr Jordan, the preferred choice of ethical, upstanding pillar of the community?????
It’ll all end in tears
YUKK !He looks very slimy
Cllr Jordan Blah blah blah .. same old same old …