Leader of Isle of Wight council, Phil Jordan, shares this update on the Solent Devolution plans. Ed
Following a debate in the Council Chamber on Wednesday night, an advisory vote of councillors was taken relating to Devolution. The meeting was an advisory meeting as the decisions being made about Devolution are carried out by Cabinet.
In a debate and vote which saw proposals being considered in an amended motion tabled by Councillor Geoff Brodie, sixteen councillors voted against the proposal and thirteen supported the proposal. The proposal was not a decision-making vote.
Advice to avoid voting
Legal advice presented to Cabinet Members prior to the meeting indicated they should not comment or vote in the debate.
That is what happened.
The decision on Devolution is to be taken by Cabinet at 5pm today (Thursday 9th January).
Jordan: A once in a lifetime opportunity for this Island
Speaking today the Leader of the Council, Councillor Phil Jordan explained:
“The decision about Devolution was always a cabinet decision. I wanted Full Council to debate the matter prior to Cabinet meeting simply to hear the views of other Councillors. Their decision, however, was not a vote to do anything whatsoever, just an indication of the views of those other Councillors.
“Our cabinet members were advised by legal support that they should not vote or indicate their views on the matter and so it transpired that this non-decision-making vote did not include their votes. This is important. The result of the poll of councillors would have included seven cabinet member votes which would have changed the result to a majority number of councillors supporting the Devolution proposals. This indicates very clearly to me that cabinet have a mandate to take a decision that reflects the wishes of the majority of Councillors serving the Isle of Wight Council.
“The Devolution project – which is happening anyway – is a once in a lifetime opportunity for this Island which we must grasp very firmly and quickly. It offers an opportunity for far more beneficial powers being transferred from Westminster to our Island and the Solent area and it offers multi millions of pounds of additional funding to our Island and the Solent area for at least 30 years.
“Devolution is a strategic arrangement. It is NOT changing the Island Council into anything it is not already, amalgamating with other councils are being merged with the mainland. The Island Council will remain as is in any Devolution arrangement and we must secure this opportunity without delay.”
Catch up on the latest in relation to the Devolution plans by accessing OnTheWight’s Solent Devolution archive. Ed
