The Isle of Wight Council is a unitary authority covering the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

, an island in the south of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is currently made up of 39 seats. Since the 2021 election, there has been an 'Alliance' coalition administration of Independents, the Green Party, Island Independent Network, and Our Island councillors, who together with the Liberal Democrat and Vectis Party councillors voted to elect Independent Lora Peacey-Wilcox as leader of the council, with the Labour councillor being absent. The Conservative group is the principal opposition party, and the single councillors from Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Vectis Party also sit outside the Alliance group.

History

On 1 April 1995 the Isle of Wight Council was formed, and became the first

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

in England. The new authority took control of district council functions, retaining the county council functions of the previous county council. The predecessor body to the Isle of Wight Council was the Isle of Wight County Council, which dated from January 1890.

Elections

Prior to 1998, the Liberals and then Liberal Democrats had dominated the council. Between 1998 and 2005, it was under no overall control, ruled by a coalition of Lib Dems and Independents. Elections held in June 2005 led to significant change as the Conservatives took over from the Liberal Democrats as the largest group, winning seats primarily from the Lib Dems and Independents who had previously worked together. In the 2009 elections the Conservatives managed to retain their majority by securing 24 of the revised 40 seats; however this was the only Conservative council in the UK that lost seats. In 2013, the Island Independents gained 20 seats, one short of a majority, with the Conservatives only winning 15. As of January 2015, the Island Independents have lost four councillors through defections, and the Conservatives one. Leader Ian Stephens stood down in January 2015, the next day announcing he was to stand to be the local MP. Jonathan Bacon, representing Bembridge, Brading and St. Helens, was elected unopposed as the new Leader. He stood down, along with deputy leader Steve Stubbings, in January 2017 citing 'the unwillingness of government to lift a finger to help and the preference for too many elected members to act negatively rather than try to help.' Following the resignations of the leader and deputy leader in January 2017, Conservative members assumed control of the administration, with Dave Stewart appointed as leader. A new ruling executive was formed, made up of five Conservatives, one UKIP member and three non-aligned members. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

the Conservatives lost their majority on the council, against the national trend for that party, and an 'Alliance' administration of independents and Greens took control, their leader elected as Leader of the council with support from the single councillors from the Liberal Democrats and Vectis Party.

Coat of arms

The Coat of arms of the Isle of Wight was first granted to the County Council in 1938. On its abolition in 1995, they transferred to the new Isle of Wight Council. The shield shows an image of

Carisbrooke Castle Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke (near Newport), Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial. Early history The site of Carisb ...

, which was the historic seat of many island governors. At the bottom is the island's motto "All this beauty is of God".

Notes

References

External links