OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
Angela Hewitt shares this Open Letter to Isle of Wight West Labour MP, Richard Quigley, Ed
As a local constituent I have tried very hard to tell people about the National Emergency that we are facing, as have other people on the Island. I am one of the 130,000 people that signed Chris Packham’s petition calling for Parliament to debate what is indeed a very real national emergency.
Debate on Monday 16th November
I’m writing as your constituent about the petition debate now being held on Monday 16th November 2026 at 4.30pm – for government to hold a live emergency briefing to the nation on the climate and nature crisis.
We have asked MPs to call for a debate, not all have but I am hopeful that will change.
We can’t ignore the facts we are being literally faced with day on day.
Briefing delivered by independent experts
We think that the briefing would be introduced by the Prime Minister and delivered by independent experts, so everyone gets clear, trusted information about the risks to our homes, jobs and communities, and what we can do about those risks.
This really isn’t about any one policy or party. It’s about the public being properly informed.
Please, please attend the debate, hear the case, and seriously consider backing the call for a briefing.
Changes witnessed on the Island
I run a Natural History Education Centre on the Island founded in 2007. I have watched daily the changes that are happening to our Island. Day on day I witness the serious loss of wildlife and their habitats.
On the Island as well as nationally, I witness bizarre decisions being made that will add to the negative impacts about to swamp our lives.
Nature is the bedrock of all human existence yet we dismiss nature as a side order while the serious loss of wildlife continues. I see human life being treated with the same dismissive attitude.
If you want growth you need to grow the human resource first. Am I witnessing a dehumanising of the planet? Our habitat is the only thing that matters. Loss of our habitat means loss of life.
We need to be brave.
Thank you for reading my plea.
