The mystery of the Isle of Wight group of Conservative councillors press launch has been revealed this morning with the arrival of this press release from Chris Whitehouse. Ed
“We want our Island to be the best place in the country to live and work.” says Cllr Dave Stewart, Leader of the Conservative Councillors on the Isle of Wight Council.
The Conservative Group of Isle of Wight Councillors has today launched a major consultation with the Island community to develop “a shared vision for the future of our Island”.
The explanatory document (embedded below), which will be circulated and communicated to thousands of Island residents, businesses, charities, schools and service providers, asks 12 questions – the responses to which will help shape Conservative Group policies in the run-up to the next local council elections in May 2017.
Conservative Group Leader, Cllr Dave Stewart says:
“We want our Island to be the best place in the country to live and work. To achieve this vision we want to engage with all parts of our community – our residents, our young people, our businesses, everyone who has a stake in our Island to make this vision become a reality. We cannot simply moan about how tight finances are, as challenging as they may be, we need to change the way the Isle of Wight Council thinks and works so it can live within it’s means and still enable the community to create success.
”We need to embed a professional and business-like approach within the council; ensuring we‘re making the best use of all our resources in the most efficient way, working in partnership with the public, private and voluntary sectors, as we support our community and ensure essential services are delivered.”
Five top priorities
The Conservatives identify five top priorities in their paper:
- protecting our community
- preserving the environment
- growing our economy
- supporting our residents
- creating opportunity for all
The questionnaire will shortly be published on the Conservatives’ Website and will be followed by consultation meetings involving schools, colleges, businesses, charities, town and parish councils, and those who provide and use local services.
Cllr Stewart says,
“We want this consultation to be genuine, to be deep and to be effective in helping us determine the right policies for the future of our Island.”
Launch event
The launch of the document at the Riverside Centre, Newport, was attended by the Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Andrew Turner, as well as other Conservative Councillors. It highlighted the record of the current Independent administration and provided an alternative approach for the future.
Cllr Stewart argues,
“If the current ‘Independent’ administration were to put half as much energy into innovative thinking about the way in which the Council could operate as they do into blaming others and talking down the Island’s prospects, perhaps they wouldn’t be in the mess they are in now. Blaming everyone else for the economic position is simply not good enough and needs to stop before even more businesses lose confidence and are persuaded not to invest here.”
In concluding the launch, Councillor Stewart said:
“So, let’s move forward with a more positive approach, draw on the experience, knowledge and talent of all those in our communities who see a future for our Island and want to contribute their skills and ideas to help achieve it. We will do our part by working with Government, with our Island MP and with our Island community to address the current challenges and achieve our vision of success.
