Former parliamentary election candidate, Julian Critchley, has been elected chair of the Isle of Wight Labour Party.
Last week’s AGM saw a number of new members elected to help with the running of the party.
Mr Critchley said,
“I think what we saw is the changing of the guard.
“The Island Labour Party had some pretty tough years and there was a hardcore group who kept it going all that time.
“I have got an immense amount of admiration for the people who kept it going.”
Doubling number of IW branches
Over the last year, Labour has doubled the number of local branches on the Island.
He said,
“It’s crazy that we didn’t have a branch in Newport in particular. It’s the county town.”
Labour’s best result since 1959
Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely won an overwhelming majority at the previous election, however, Mr Critchley said Island Labour had not given up.
He said,
“We had suffered from the tactical vote in the past — people who thought voting for Labour would be a wasted vote. But after the last election, where we had our best result since 1959, that’s clearly no longer the case.”
Engaging people in local politics
One of his plans for the year involves getting more people involved in local politics, ahead of the next council election in 2021.
He said:
“A Labour council would look very different.
“A Labour council would put the Island first — at the end of the day we are responsible for the most vulnerable people and the Conservatives don’t seem to see it that way.”
Other appointments
Others elected include:
- Vice Chair: Amanda Mason (Cowes and East Cowes)
- Vice-Chair: Sue Lyons (Ryde)
- Secretary: Paul Elvins (Sandown and Shanklin)
- Treasurer: Steve Milford (Ventnor)
- Youth and student: Alexander Buggie (Sandown and Shanklin)
- Women’s officer: Kay Smith (West Wight)
