In his own words. Ed
The thing about politics, especially at local level, is that generally all parties are trying to get to a similar destination. Just on a different bus.
In this instance, the Tories seem to have hopped off the bus and swapped it for a limo bound for lala land.
The whole Island needs focus
I’m glad they have admitted they have presided over the decline of our county town, but it’s not just Newport that needs regeneration. The whole Island needs focus.
They have presided over a huge reduction in pretty much all council services. We should be asking where the money is now coming from, as they pleaded poverty in order to raise council taxes by over 5 per cent only last month, but now there is money for everything.
Letter: We need radical change at grassroots in Island politics to be competent
Independent candidate, Michael Lilley, explores the issue of a lack of candidates for many town or parish council wards in the upcoming elections
OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Independent candidate, Michael Lilley. Ed
Further to recent letters from Phil Jordan and Steve Sheridan about town and parish councils, I wish to raise the issue of the reality that on the Isle of Wight there are 33 parish and town councils and in the 2021 May elections only 11 have contests in some or all of their wards and only Bembridge and Sandown have contests in all their wards.
Things can get heated during elections. They certainly got spikey in this email exchange today
A strong exchange of emails took place today between an Isle of Wight council election Green Party candidate and Chair of the Island Conservatives, David Pugh.
The dispute began with Mr Pugh – former Isle of Wight Conservative council leader between 2007 and 2013 – writing to Vix Lowthion, the agent for the Freshwater North and Yarmouth Green Party candidate Daniel James.
Mr Pugh accused Mr James of “misleading the electorate” in his letter to residents of the Freshwater North and Yarmouth ward, something Mr James refutes.
What the letter says
Before demolishing County Hall, restructure IW Council for 21st Century, say Our Island
Jonathan Bacon from Our Island says “We need to get our local economy functioning first and only then look at the housing”
In his own words. Ed
There are some good ideas in this, but they are not new. Similar proposals were being discussed over five years ago.
It’s interesting that the Conservatives have suddenly decided to put this forward now. We wait to see what other ideas they originally opposed, rejected or did nothing about in the last four years, will be put forward in the next few weeks.
‘Real issue with Ryde Skatepark is not vandalism’ says skateboarding group amidst calls to secure 20+ year lease
Ryde Town Council say they have closed the park due to “anti-social behaviour and vandalism”, but the real issue is far from this say skateboarding ambassadors, Wight Trash
On Friday lunchtime Ryde Town Council (RTC) announced that due to “antisocial behaviour” at Ryde Skatepark, the facility would be closed to skateboarders.
The RTC claimed that the park, which has stood behind LA Bowl on Ryde seafront for the last 20 years, had been “vandalised to an extent that it exposes health and safety risks to members of the public”.