Leader of the Isle of Wight council, Jonathan Bacon, has posted a lengthy response on social media to the full-page spread the County Press (CP) gave to Isle of Wight councillor for Central Wight, Cllr Bob Seely last week.
In the article, Cllr Seely sets out his vision for the Isle of Wight and what he considers to be the necessary ‘pre-nuptials’ before heading into the Solent Devolution deal.
The Solent Devolution will be debated by Isle of Wight full council this coming Wednesday evening (tune in to our live coverage – earlier than usual – from 5pm).
Never offered full page
Cllr Bacon’s online missive observed that the “County Press generously allowed a full page to express his [Cllr Seely] views”, something he told OnTheWight has never been offered to him during his time as Leader of the Isle of Wight council.
Alan Marriott, Editor of the CP, told OnTheWight,
“While I have never offered anyone a full page, I have used several lengthy letters from Cllr Bacon over the time of the Fight for the Wight campaign.”
He added that Bob Seely had submitted his article off his own bat.
MP in waiting?
Cllr Bacon went on to say,
“This [the full page spread] is probably because it is well known Bob is aiming to be MP for the Island, although those in the Council know him more for the fact he is rarely seen and often uninformed about issues he chooses to bring up.”
Bob Seely running as a prospective parliamentary candidate is a rumour that has been circulating among the politically-obsessed for a while.
When OnTheWight asked Cllr Seely in January 2015 whether he’d considered standing for MP at any time in the future, he was tight-lipped, so we have asked him again and will let you know once we hear back from him.
Bacon: “Things I have been saying for the last two years”
There are a lot of good things in Bob’s article, Cllr Bacon says.
However, he adds that’s because, “most of it agrees with things I have been saying for the last two years”.
Tory plan to ‘block’ devolution deal
At the end of the open letter to Cllr Seely, the leader finishes by saying,
“Since writing this response it has now become clear that The Conservative Group have decided to block going ahead with a Combined Authority as they would rather be seen to give the Administration a bloody nose rather than actually think about what might be best for the Island.”
Tory group leader non-committal
When OnTheWight directly asked Cllr Dave Stewart a few weeks ago whether “the Isle of Wight Conservative councillors had formed a plan to reject the devolution deal”, he provided this non-committal response,
He told OnTheWight,
“When proposals come forward at the October full council meeting I anticipate Conservative Councillors will be looking to support the position they consider to be in the best interests of the Island.”
‘Pursuing power’ appears more important
Cllr Bacon stated that if the step for the combined authority with Labour-controlled Southampton and Conservative-controlled Portsmouth (who have already agreed to move forward) is not taken, “then it will destroy the chances of receiving a Deal on any terms whatsoever”, as the proposal cannot go ahead with less than three authorities and, “that Government regards a Mayor as essential”.
“Their view [Conservative IW Cllrs] seems to be that pursuing power is more important than achieving those things that Councillor Seely talks about in his letter and more important than trying to obtain the money to improve things. Look forward to more cuts and a very bleak future if they ever get control.”
Open letter to Cllr Seely
The full response to Cllr Seely can be seen below,
“Dear Bob
“Thank you for the article on page 44 of today’s County Press which I have just come across.
“While I cannot agree with absolutely every point, it repeats and underlines many of the things I have been saying for the past two years, in particular the need to link housing to jobs. This is the reason why houses are not getting built and planning permissions lying dormant, which has the knock on effect of increasing our annual housing target. Obviously greater local control could ensure that the proper balance is achieved and things are not driven by greedy developers. As you will have seen from the papers coming before Full Council, moves to take control of the housing agenda are already afoot.
“In relation to jobs and skills the aspiration is already there to make the Island a centre for skilled jobs and innovation. The issue we are starting to address is how to do this, which is down to creating capacity and finding the money to bring schemes and infrastructure forward. Again, as I am sure you have seen, we have already started on the road to do this. In addition I have taken a personal interest in pursuing the idea of a University on the Island and it is hoped a feasibility paper will be before the Executive before the end of the year.
“The vision is one thing. Achieving the vision is paramount. Hence the Regeneration based measures that have been passed through Council in recent months and the new Financial Strategy which is before Full Council next Wednesday.
“You are right to identify that Devolution can play an important part in this process. The ‘pre-nuptial’ you talk about will be part of receiving and negotiating the final deal. Before that of course we need to place ourselves in the position to receive a Deal by forming a Combined Authority, which issue is before Full Council in a few days time.
“Obviously if this step is not taken then it will destroy the chances of receiving a Deal on any terms whatsoever. We know that the proposal cannot go ahead with less than three authorities involved and also that Government regards a Mayor as essential. If Full Council rejects the Combined Authority or, as it seems is now proposed, accepts the idea but without a Mayor, then the process stops and we won’t even get to the pre-nuptial stage.
“I take it from your article that you are in favour of the Combined Authority proposal so that the sort of negotiations you discuss can be entered into. This is definitely a situation of ‘horse and cart’ rather than ‘chicken and egg’. It is worrying that our MP and a number of elements around the Chamber in Full Council seem determined to destroy this process even before we get the chance to find out what the final Deal might be. Of course we know what the draft proposal was and this seems to be highly indicative of what the actual offer will be, but it will be no good if we don’t put ourselves in a position to find out the reality. It also seems to be being missed that we do not and indeed cannot make any final commitment until we have the final Deal presented to us.
“I do not know what view the Conservative Group is taking on this issue (although the position of one or two individuals seems clear). It is apparent however that the stance of the Conservative Group will be what decides the issue before Full Council next week. I anticipate therefore that you will be using your standing and influence in the Group to ensure the decision reached is the right one.
“I am very happy to sit down at any time and discuss any of the issues mentioned above or flowing from your article or beyond.”
Image: maplessinseattle under CC BY 2.0
