Nick shares this latest news from the Isle of Wight Liberal Democrats. Ed
The Isle of Wight Liberal Democrats have announced their plans to get policy to recognise the unique barriers faced by English islands considered at the National Party’s Working Group on Rural Communities.
The policy that aims to see English Islands gain the same special recognition as their counterparts in the Scottish Isles, could give the Isle of Wight new powers to set their own rural development policies outside of main legislation.
Could become part of LibDem national policy
The policy will be put to the Liberal Democrat Working Group on Rural Communities to be scrutinised and, if successful, could become part of the Liberal Democrat’s national policy and may even be in their next national manifesto.
Attempts by the Island’s Conservative MP, Andrew Turner, to consider the Isle of Wight as a special case have been largely ineffectual.
Empowering English islands
Nicholas Belfitt Chair of the Lib Dems said,
“We see a lot of talk, handshakes, single lines from the government saying they are recognising us as an Island, but yet nothing seems to change.
“This policy has come from the desire for us to get some real legislation that will finally force the government to recognise our unique needs.
“We are confident the policy will be successful and that nationally the LibDems would support legislation that will empower English islands.”
No framework for English islands
The policy asks for English islands to be considered the same as the Scottish islands. Although the UK Government has a Framework for the Islands Agreement (2014) with Scotland’s populated islands, and Wales has a commitment for creating an Energy island for the Isle of Anglesey.
No such framework exists for England’s offshore island communities. The largest populated and isolated English islands are the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Scilly.
The policy
The policy asks for:
- The Treasury to provide urgent extra financial support to those Island authorities delivering health care, education and social services
- An urgent investigation of specific measures that can be taken to make transport links to mainland England more affordable, particularly as island communities generally have lower median incomes. This includes a comprehensive feasibility study into a fixed-link for the Isle of Wight
- The wider use of shorter-term interventions similar to the Fuel Tax Rebate presently enjoyed by some Scottish islands to provide an immediate boost to economic development
The IOW LibDems add that England’s populated offshore islands rely on a combination of agriculture and tourism, but high fuel prices and inclusion in a generic Rural policy does not meet their specific and unusual needs.
The LibDems hope the policy will be the first part progression to full legislation.
Image: © Used with the kind permission of Paul Thorn
