Group leaders react to new Leader of the Isle of Wight council

Councillor Dave Stewart was last night (Wednesday) elected as Leader of the Isle of Wight council, following the unexpected resignation of Island Independent leader, Jonathan Bacon, on Monday morning.

After the meeting, Cllr Stewart, told the press that “faith in politics had been severely dented by the actions of Cllrs Bacon and Steve Stubbings“.

Stewart: “All determined to work together”
He said the resignations “are in protest about austerity but it’s actually about constant bickering within the executive and a complete failure to grasp how to run a council despite having years to learn”.

He added,

“We are all determined to work together to ensure this council delivers what Island residents expect and deserve.”

Cllr Stewart read out the following statement to the assembled media at the end of the meeting.

Bacon: Wait to see if new leader will “stand up to the Government”
Jonathan Bacon, former Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, told OnTheWight this morning,

“I wish luck to Councillor Stewart in his new role as caretaker leader of the Isle of Wight Council. He will need it for all the reasons set out in my resignation statement on Monday, unless of course he is happy with the way Councillors currently behave and the way the Government treats the Isle of Wight.
“Much work has been done on the forthcoming budget already, but the Independent Executive were still working on ensuring that risks to the vulnerable in the community are minimised. In particular I wished to review the support given to Barnardo’s in order to maintain their activities and to ensure funds for Cross Solent Travel for Cancer patients are safeguarded. It will be interesting to see if the Conservatives take such steps, just adopt the work we have done to date or put forward different proposals.
“The big test for Councillor Stewart and his new Executive will be their attitude to and relationship with Central Government. We wait to see if he will stand up to the Government and argue the case for improved funding for the Island or whether he will be happy to support austerity and the imposition of further cuts Those on the Island who recognise the position the Island is in know an ‘Island Deal’ and increased funding is fundamental to our future.
“The behaviour in the Council Chamber on Wednesday night served to underline my view of the attitude and capacity of many members of the current Council to work together for the Island. At the coming election I hope to see many new members elected who can work and act in the way necessary to help the Island and fight together against austerity, at which point we won’t need a caretaker.”

Island Independents: “Have already seen a sign of things to come”
In response to the change in Leadership, the Island Independents said,

“On Monday Cllr David Stewart, the Conservative leader ruled out taking the Council by ‘force’, but that is exactly what has now happened with a political alliance of Conservatives, UKIP and Individual Members, including some who previously stood for election on an anti-Conservative ticket. This alliance had the numbers needed to take control of the Council last May but declined, claiming they did not have a mandate to do so.
“The Con-UKIP alliance has been keen to justify taking control now and Cllr Stewart was voted in as what his group referred to as a ‘Caretaker’ Leader in a ‘caretaker’ administration suggesting a continued lack of willingness to accept political responsibility for dealing with the austerity measures imposed by Government and for making the tough decisions required in the next few months.”

New Independent group Leader, Julia Baker-Smith said,

“I fear we have already seen a sign of things to come, with the Con-UKIP Alliance already voting through council tax benefit support cuts to severely disabled people despite the Independent Group proposing the removal of the harmful cut from the paper.
“Despite annual budget cuts due to government austerity, the Island Independents have tried to protect the most vulnerable residents. This has become increasingly difficult, but the Independent group has not lost heart, nor given up on our deep-felt commitment to make a positive difference to the Island.
“For the good of the Island we wish the Con-UKIP alliance the best of luck but are thankful that there are only three months left until the elections.”

Labour: “Devastated by last night’s coup”
The Labour group of councillors told OnTheWight,

“The IW Council Labour Group fears for the Island’s most vulnerable residents now that the Tory/Ukip/ex-Indy Alliance has taken control at County Hall.

“With a £7.5m shortfall in the next Budget, officers have presented the outgoing administration with a list of suggested cuts – many of which would hurt services to vulnerable people. Labour had been in discussion with the outgoing administration as to how to balance the budget without having to make all these cuts, but that door to decision-making is now closed.”

Lead Labour councillor, Geoff Lumley, added,

“Naturally we hope in the interests of the weak, the poor and the vulnerable that the Tory/Ukip/ex-Indy Alliance does not follow its instincts and implement the cuts suggested by officers.
“We were confident that would not have happened before last night, but in the light of the new leader’s remarks last year that services to vulnerable people were part of a ‘socialist agenda’ I have real fears over what they will present next month.
“Having endured eight years of a Tory council in the past, personally I am devastated by last night’s coup, which has been timed with an eye to May’s election rather than showing the electorate what damage they would do over a longer period of time. Remember they have had a majority for over a year now, but declined to step up until now.”

Lib Dem: “Who are they trying to fool?”
Liberal Democrat councillor, Reg Barry, told OnTheWight,

“When the Tories came to power in 2005 they took over a financially well-managed unitary council with adequate reserves. Within eight years the government had taken away Children’s Services and Education because of their mismanagement. We no longer have our own Fire and Rescue Service. They passed highways over to private finance and most the remaining services that were provided by the Isle of Wight Council have largely been foisted onto the Town and Parish Councils and we have now become little more than a District Council.
“This was the mess the Independents inherited and I believe in times of unrelenting and draconian cuts by this Government they have done a pretty good job, and that is why I have given them my support.
“The Tories and their fellow travellers had the same numbers last night as they did on the night of the Annual General Meeting of the council. On that occasion they used those numbers to award themselves and their cronies all the jobs that attracted special responsibility allowances.
“Strangely, they didn’t take over the council at that time, just the lucrative positions. Now they would tell the people of our Island that they will take over as caretakers to “sort out the the mess left by the Independents”! Who are they trying to fool this time?
“We all know that eight years of incompetence on the part of various Tory councils has left a mess that the Independents tried valiantly to remedy.
“The excuses offered by the Tories over the next few weeks as they seek to grasp power again should be interesting.”

UKIP: “Cllr Stewart took time to canvass our support”
Cllr Daryll Pitcher, UKIP Group Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, told OnTheWight,

“The UKIP Group took the decision to support Cllr Stewart as the new Leader of the Council. This decision was not taken lightly nor was it a kneejerk reaction to recent events. We have sat for some time on the benches of the Council Chamber and watched the Independent Administration slowly implode. The resignations of the last few days were merely the final act of a drama that has played out over many months and indeed over years. Their shambolic display tonight simply put in public what we already knew.
“There was not one single candidate that they could have put forward that we believe could have maintained the cohesiveness of their Group for the duration of this Council. In fact the person they did nominate did not get the support of all their Members. There is no way in all consciousness that we could legitimise such a shambles and so we made the difficult decision to support the Conservatives under Cllr Stewart.
“Cllr Stewart took time to canvass our support and to discuss issues and problems in an open manner. So far he has been honest with us and has expended energy building trust. In complete contrast we did not receive a single direct approach from any other Group in the last few days asking for our support or proposing a way forward.
“Our aim now is a stable Council Administration working broadly cross party in a caretaker like capacity until May when fresh elections are due. As UKIP we retain our own identity and we will be putting forward ideas as we move forward. Our vision and policies are different from those of the Conservatives but we realise that for the good of the Island we must all work together for this short time in order that the business of Council can continue.”

“Blah Blah Land”
On hearing news of the leadership vote, Isle of Wight Trades Union Council Spokesperson, Steve Butler, said,