Jonathan Bacon shares this press release on behalf of the Alliance Group of councillors at County Hall. Ed
The new Alliance Group, which now forms the Administration of the Isle of Wight council, thanks Conservative Leader Steve Hastings for his recent comments stating that he and his group wish to collaboratively engage with the Administration and that they wish to work constructively alongside the new Cabinet, but the Group waits to see what actually happens.
Peacey Wilcox: Sceptical about Cllr Hastings’ statement
Leader of the council and of the Alliance Group, Cllr Lora Peacey Wilcox, said,
“The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. We have inherited a situation where the previous Conservative council operated its own form of lockdown in terms of access to Cabinet members and information, so it is perhaps not surprising that we are somewhat sceptical about the content of Cllr Hastings statement.”
Scrutiny reverted back to opposition oversight
The Isle of Wight council leader went on to say,
“On the evening of our victory we changed the previous system operated under the former leader, ex-Cllr Stewart, whereby the Administration was in charge of Scrutiny, and effectively ‘marking their own homework’ and have done this as a first step in restoring transparency and enabling the Isle of Wight council to restore its credibility.
“We will be going on to review the many other obstructive polices and practices that the previous Administration imposed on this council, although they will remain in place for now out of necessity, as there are other more urgent reviews to be conducted first.”
Peacey Wilcox: Action or ‘hollow words’
Cllr Peacey Wilcox added,
“We wait to see if the Conservatives do in fact ‘contribute to and inform’ Cabinet decisions and whether they have now learned that this is how a council should operate, or to see if these are simply more of the hollow words that we have grown used to hearing over the last few years. While we, as a new Administration, have to prove ourselves in office it is also very much for the Conservatives to prove if they can change their spots. We and the public will be watching their behaviour closely.
“Many have noted that there were some speeches made by Conservative members at the recent full council meeting, particularly by Cllr Churchman and Cllr Mosdell, which suggest the Conservative attitude has really not changed at all and that their primary concern remains their Party and not the Island.”
Shadow cabinet will not have any greater access to information
Cllr Peacey Wilcox finished by saying,
“We note that Cllr Hastings is establishing a ‘shadow cabinet’. It is of course for him to decide how he leads and structures his group.
“However, contrary to requests he has made privately, this will not entitle his councillors to any greater access to information. He and his team will have the same level of access to information and the Cabinet that the Conservatives deemed fit and appropriate as an Administration.
“The immediate action of the Alliance Group to revert scrutiny back to opposition oversight, with the support of reverse proportionality, has already gone further than the Conservatives ever did to provide an open and transparent culture.
“We are far more concerned with opening up the council to residents and businesses to enable them to engage with us and inform our policy and decision making.”
