The Conservatives have lost their majority control of the Isle of Wight Council following this year’s local elections, with a number of new faces heading for County Hall – including 2 Greens.
Those living in the Chale, Niton and Shorwell ward decided, after 11 years, to vote in new blood with the now-former Council Leader Dave Stewart losing his seat to Green’s Clare Critchison, as previously reported by Island Echo.
Other new councillors include Richard Quigley (Lab), Ian Dore (Ind), Karen Lucioni (Ind), Joe Lever (Green), David Adams (Ind), Ray Redrup (Con), Warren Drew (Con), Joe Robertson (Con), Peter Spink (Con), Martin Oliver (Con) and Suzi Ellis (Con).
Negotiations will get underway today on how the Council will look for the next 4 years with a coalition expected to be formed. It comes as a result of the Conservatives losing 6 seats and therefore their majority of 24 too.
The new Isle of Wight Council is made up of 18 Conservatives, 13 Independents, 2 Green, 2 Island Independent Network, 1 Labour, 1 Our Island, 1 Lib Dem and 1 Vectis Party. It remains to be seen if other parties will come together to dominate the Conservatives, or whether the Tories will seek 2 others to reach the majority of 20 needed.
Last night’s results brought some surprises with Barry Abraham, Richard Hollis and Brian Tyndall losing their seats and long-term councillor Charles Chapman failed to secure enough votes against Karen Lucioni.
Jonathan Bacon and Phil Jordan will return to County Hall for the first time since 2017, as will Daryll Pitcher who beat Barry Abraham in Wootton.
A number of familiar faces remain in power including Ian Ward, Paul Brading, Matt Price, Tig Outlaw, Vanessa Churchman, Michael Beston, Steve Hastings, Karl Love, Debbie Andre, Rodney Downer, Geoff Brodie, Andrew Garratt, Paul Fuller, Michael Lilley and Lora Peacey-Wilcox.
Missing out by a small margin were Cameron Palin (4 votes), Carol Bryan (10 votes), Les Kirkby (14 votes), Richard Hollis (35 votes), Bev Hastings (39 votes), Michael Ward (71 votes) and Ian Fletcher (50 votes).
The largest margin was achieved by Cowes West & Gurnard’s Paul Fuller (Ind), who secured 1,101 votes – a staggering 893 over Tim Jeffreys (Con).
The full results can be found here.
Results for the Town/Parish election will be published later today at https://isleofwight.vote/candidates-town-parish-elections-2021.
Find out who your local councillor is, how and where to vote and the results of previous elections at www.isleofwight.vote - the Island's new hub for all things related to Local and General Elections, brought to you by Island Echo.
It’s a shame more tories didn’t get the boot, still, at least Dave “Pugwash” Stewart is gone. I hope the tourist board are quaking in their boots now there best mate and chief brown envelope distributor has gone.
The first thing the councillors need to do now they have broken the conservative majority is to get get of the village idiot ward and replace him with someone actually grounded in reality regarding transport, if pushed they could borrow a tame monkey which would probably have 4 times the intelligence.
maybe those back at county hall will sort out the mess they left behind last time like the floating bridge
Scrap it…. Get a reliable one built and put in place, not that money pit we have now.
When you say those back at county hall will sort out the mess i hope you are not including Jonathan Bacon who, in 2016 when in power said the floating bridge will be more efficient than the chain link. I think we have gone a complete circle
Never mind, Dave, the Square and Conpasses will see you right.
all we will see now, is the new bods, saying “look at me aren’t i great” and then arguing the toss and refusing to work together to ensure a better island. All we will end up with is a load of grandstanding by those who think they are more important on each issue, as they expect to be wined and dined to ensure their support to get anything over the line.
either way, give it six months, their principles will be in the bin, as they wedge their noses in the tax payer funded trough, during their tour on the gravy train.
The thirteen Independents and the other two Island Independents need to get together, choose a “leader” and then ask the remaining 6 (2 Green, 1Lib, 1Lab, 1 Vectis and Bacon) if they would like to join THEIR group or negotiate with the Conservatives. It must be made clear to the 6 that no blackmail for Cabinet positions will be tolerated. That way the 6 will be faced with a straight choice. Backing whoever succeeds Stewart….or not!
That’s the real risk: the Tories may be down but they’re not out. There are enough of them left to convince the floaters to join them with promises of great office (like Chair of Scrutiny – ah, no, I forgot, that one’s reserved for a Tory).
Indies of all persuasions: Please, please, please act together for the good of the Island, just as your manifestos promised!
We kept the hard left Marxists of island Labour and their cult followers out of power and the island is safe from them for another four years but we need to watch the rise of the tree hugging nutters that are the Green’s they are very dangerous if they get any power in the IOW
Smallbrook, can you elaborate on your comments there re the very dangerous greens? What do you think is dangerous about them? Which of their policies are dangerous and what policies would you advocate instead?
Greens are hard left marxists.
No they’re not, they’re socialist but not communist. Your statement is like saying tories are fascists. So much ignorance abounding here.
IF history repeats itself we will have promises of inter-party cooperation, a few months of promises, a fall out between some of the players followed by an agreement for the Tories to take over again! Been there, got the T shirt. It is time for a change and a MASSIVE clean up of County Hall… NO MORE massive salaries for under performance, NO MORE brown envelope politics and err…. oh yes, sink that Bl***y ferry!
This CLEARLY shows how bad our council is, where in most places Tories have done very very well.
Real Islanders are sick of the massive permission for building thousands of homes here, knowing full well that a massive percentage will be filled with non Islanders and likely non British people.
We are gradually seeing our once ‘different’ Isle turn into a mini mainland, and we all KNOW that with the massive building progs underway that, the ‘gradual’ will turn into a rapid ruination, and much blame is with the current council
Hence the vote choice.
If only more of the anti-Tory candidates could have got together, the result could have been even better! Compare Ventnor, where the non-Tories got 800+ votes and all lost to a Tory with less than 400, to Chale, where the lone non-Tory beat the ex-Council leader easily!
Learn the lessons … especially the 3 new Island parties! Get together and really put the Island first or carry on losing!
At least one smirking fool has the appropriate name for councillors predilections regarding getting snouts in the trough.