Labour’s Richard Quigley says he is ‘desperate to get on with the job’ as he becomes MP for Isle of Wight West – and sees ferries, education, housing and schooling as his top priorities during his first 100 days in office. The Cowes-based businessman secured a total of 13,240 votes against an electorate of 55,406 in yesterday’s General Election, a majority of 3,177 over former MP Bob Seely. It’s a major blow for the Conservatives, who had held the Isle of Wight seat since 2001. The Labour Party has had a representative in every election on the Island since 1922, but it is Richard that has finally secured them a win after more than 100 years. Talking to Island Echo about the historic victory, Richard said:
“It’s good. You don’t think about things at the time, you just think about what the job is – and that’s why I’m desperate to get on with the job. Hopefully it sends a sign to people who have felt disenfranchised with politics that anything is possible. “It’s been a long 5 years – we’ve been doing this for 5 years – but we have a great team and it was a positive campaign that was a lot of fun. It’s great.
Talking about what his first 100 days in office will look like, Richard said:
“The first thing is getting the Isle of Wight back on the map. We’ve been invisible for the last 10 years, everybody knows that, we’ve now got twice as much representation and we’ve got the plan we’ve been putting together for the last 18 months. “Ferries, education, housing and schooling is where we’ll be”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W6dGYC4bTk
So, who is Richard Quigley?
Married with 2 children, and 2 grandchildren, he has lived on the Island and called it home for over 22 years. As a business owner, charity Trustee of Pan Together and Footprint Trust, he actively campaigns to make the island a better place to live and work. As the SEND Councillor for the Isle of Wight Council, he has worked to improve SEND services, advocating for parents and children. He is also campaigning to get the Council to develop and embed Community Wealth Building as a route to making the local economy more sustainable. Richard says he will champion the Island in Westminster, not just represent Westminster on the Island. A by-election is now expected to be held for Richard’s local council seat of Cowes North.