A dramatic by-election result and shifting loyalties have turned Central Rural into one of the Island’s most unpredictable contests.
Stretching from Burnt House Lane in the north to the Hoy Monument in the south, and from Chillerton in the west to Whitley Bank in the east, Central Rural is one of the Island’s largest and most dispersed wards.
It spans villages such as Godshill, Rookley and Niton alongside smaller communities and farmland, where road access, public transport, planning and local services dominate debate.
Recent elections underline how quickly the political ground can shift. At the 2021 Isle of Wight Council election, the Conservatives held the seat, with Suzie Ellis elected on 619 votes, ahead of Julia Laursen for the Greens on 313 and Labour’s Richard Hill on 146.
That position changed sharply in the 1st May 2025 by-election, when Caroline Gladwin won the seat for Reform UK with 410 votes, well ahead of Conservative candidate Simon Richards on 220, with Julia Laursen again third on 219.
Caroline Gladwin has since been deselected by Reform amid controversy surrounding declarations of interests, and now stands as an independent – leaving the ward as a genuinely open 4-way contest.
Green candidate Julia Laursen is campaigning on environmental priorities and community-led initiatives across the rural ward.
Julia, who has stood in both the 2021 election and the 2025 by-election, secured 313 votes in 2021 and 219 in 2025, narrowly behind the Conservatives on the latter occasion.
A life and business coach and trained therapist, she lives and works locally and has focused her campaign on flooding, water management and strengthening community resilience.
Setting out her priorities, she says:
“Flooding is a problem we must continue to work on. Drought is also something we need to prevent by capturing and storing water.”
Her consistent vote share places her within striking distance in what is now a more fragmented field.
Conservative Simon Richards is focusing on schools, infrastructure and everyday services as he seeks to regain the seat.
Simon, who stood in the 2025 by-election, finished second with 220 votes, well behind Caroline Gladwin but ahead of the Greens by a single vote.
An education governance consultant who has lived on the Island for 33 years, he places education at the centre of his campaign, arguing that current arrangements are not delivering improvement and that schools must be financially sustainable.
He also highlights roads, safety and flooding as key concerns, and brings a personal connection through cycling, noting he has ridden across most of the ward.
Outlining his approach, he says:
“Schools must be the right size in the right places. We also need to tackle roads, safety and flooding across the ward.”
His campaign represents a Conservative attempt to rebuild support following the 2025 setback.
Independent Caroline Gladwin is defending the seat following her by-election win after a controversial split with Reform.
Caroline was elected in 2025 with 410 votes, securing a clear victory over her nearest challenger and establishing Reform’s presence in the ward.
She now stands as an independent after being deselected by the party, a move she strongly disputes.
Her campaign centres on protecting schools, improving road safety and opposing plans for a new floating bridge.
Setting out her stance, she says:
“I oppose the new floating bridge. We should improve the existing one. I’m a regular user – it works better than ever.”
Reform’s James Whelan is seeking to retain the party’s foothold with a message aimed at disillusioned voters.
A former soldier and small businessman working in building maintenance and agricultural contracts, James is the only candidate in the field not to have previously stood in the ward.
Explaining why he decided to stand, he says:
“I decided to join Reform because I did not want to sit screaming at the telly asking: why are these people in charge? Why are they taxing us into oblivion?”
He says his campaign is rooted in connecting with voters who feel overlooked, particularly those who have previously supported other parties.
Summing up his message, he adds:
“I’m like you. I’m tired of the status quo.”
Central Rural has shifted from a Conservative hold in 2021 to a clear Reform win in 2025 – and now into a genuinely open 4-way contest.
With an incumbent now standing as an independent, a Reform challenge without its original candidate, and Conservatives and Greens both in the mix, this is a ward where the result is anything but predictable.
I find all the kids think Green because of environmental issues which you would think that sounds good, but they want open borders !!!! If you think it’s bad now just wait, my vote is Reform all the way !
An open border in Rookley?? Goodness me, whatever next? Small boats on the duckpond?
Hopefully Gladwin will be gone. Shes done nothing while being on the council apart from hide things and caused nothing but trouble. I’m hoping we have a mass clear out at county Hall with everyone thats been voted in before, gone.
Can I predict that Gladwin won’t retain her seat.
So there’s Richard, who advocated shutting the primary schools and academising everything for profits in pockets, Caroline with a rap sheet as long as her arms, (‘but Nige said it was ok??’–well yes, he would, wouldn’t he?) James who hasn’t said anything other than he ‘screams at the telly’ and is a shoved-in ‘you’ll do, stick a rosette on’ and Julia, who’s been around here for the past 5 years quietly campaigning for the community and its environs.
Yup.
Caroline Gladwin’s claim that she was “fully endorsed by Nigel Farage and passing full party vetting” is hardly an indication of someone’s honesty and integrity,…
Just look at Nathan Gill,.. as Reform UK’s former leader in Wales,.. I’m pretty sure he was “fully endorsed by Nigel Farage and passed full party vetting”,… but then pleaded guilty to eight counts of taking bribes from Russia.