This in from Cllr Jonathan Bacon on behalf of the Independent Group of councillors. Ed
In the Government’s Autumn statement on Wednesday, the Isle of Wight was hoping to hear news of a deal from government which could have help secure the financial future of the Island.
Instead, following lobbying by the Island’s Conservatives to stop the deal, no announcement was made.
Plea to Chief of Staff
Last week Conservative Councillor Chris Whitehouse tweeted a plea to the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff asking,
Click on image to see larger version
Conservative campaign
The tweet is part of a wider campaign by Island Conservatives to block the Combined Authority proposal despite the fact that this is the only offer of assistance to the Isle of Wight’s finances that the Government has offered
Independent Group Leader Cllr Jonathan Bacon said:
“The Conservatives on the Island have put their political ambitions for the next election ahead of any consideration for Island Residents, placing their desire for power above the desperate need to secure financial help from the Government for Island residents. They are more interested in fighting for themselves than in the Fight for the Wight.
“The Solent Combined Authority deal could have provided the funding for 10,000 new jobs, economic growth, new infrastructure, housing and most importantly, the means to help the Island to become self-sustaining and move away from reliance on Government for funding.
“The actions are unspeakably damaging and put the future of the Isle of Wight economy in jeopardy.
“The Conservative group’s desire to kill the Solent deal has been evident for weeks, but the actions of Councillor Whitehouse have laid bare the reasons for this behaviour and made it clear they have no wish to support residents but would rather pursue a local austerity agenda as set out by their leader Dave Stewart earlier this year.”
Regeneration of Key sites
The Independent Administration of the Isle of Wight Council is developing plans for Regeneration of Key sites on the Island which will improve the Island economy and allow money to be fed back into the provision of services for residents.
To assist this process the Solent Devolution Deal, for a combined regional authority with Portsmouth and Southampton, was expected to provide a share of £900 million to invest in this programme and the opportunity to retain all of the business rates collected in the region.
Minister: Devolution the only answer
In May the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Greg Clark MP, visited the Council in response to the Fight for Wight campaign for a fair financial deal for the Island.
At that meeting, he told the Council’s Executive that devolution was the only answer.
Conservatives working covertly to undermine Solent Deal work
Councillor Bacon added:
“The Independent Administration has been lobbying Government for many months to give much needed support to the Isle of Wight.
“Our meetings with Government made it clear that the only offer of help would be through the Solent devolution deal. We have done everything we can to pursue this money for the Island.
“However, local Conservatives have been working covertly to undermine all this work and in particular to undermine the Fight for the Wight campaign which they publicly expressed support for. It has become clear that they have no wish to support Islanders and are only interested in taking power and making cuts.
“It is now unclear what future, if any, there is for a deal for the Isle of Wight.”
