At Wednesday’s Isle of Wight full council meeting, Labour councillor for Newport East, Geoff Lumley will be joining Cllr Baker-Smith and Cllr Jones-Evans in presenting a motion for consideration.
No Mayor and not Solent LEP voting rights
Cllr Lumley is calling for amendments to the governance arrangements of the proposed combined authority (Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight).
He would like arrangements to be amended so the Solent LEP are not given any voting powers and for the Combined Authority to not be ruled by an elected Mayor.
His motion reads,
Council notes the report and recommendations to Executive on 24 October 2016.
In the absence of any other devolution proposal and recognising the potential benefits accruing from the devolution of powers and funds from central government, Council supports the Executive submitting a request to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to establish a Solent Combined Authority, but with the proposed governance arrangements amended so as not to include a Directly Elected Mayor, nor voting powers for the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership.
Mayor essential to Government
Council leader, Jonathan Bacon, stated over the weekend that as well as the proposal for the Solent Devolution not being able to go ahead without consensus from all three authorities, the Government regards a Mayor as essential.
Live coverage
OnTheWight will be reporting live from the meeting on Wednesday (19th October).
Tune in at the earlier time of 5pm to follow the discussion in the chamber.
Image: steveboneham under CC BY 2.0
