Isle of Wight council leader, Phil Jordan, replies to the launch of a petition to continue with local elections this May, and Letter to the Editor for Mr Sam Smith regarding devolution. In his own words. Ed
Seeing young people involving themselves in local issues and politics is a good thing. It should be encouraged and respected, which I very much do.
It was Government that wrote to council Leaders on 16th December 2024 giving us until 10th January 2025 to submit an ask of Government to be included in their Priority Programme for Devolution. Twenty-five days, spanning the festive break and requiring reports, meetings, legal advice and staffing commitments to get a response into Government. No one can support that time frame imposed by Government.
Government are setting the pace and timetable
But Government are setting the pace and timetable on Devolution and no one can now disagree that this Government is going to devolve the entire country during their term in Parliament.
Indeed, already 40% of the geographical country is already under a devolved arrangement, with four further areas planned for 2025. The priority programme intends to devolve many more areas by May 2026. We won’t get to choose whether or not we want Devolution, it is going to happen.
What we do have some choice in is whether or not we want to do that sooner, rather than later.
Isle of Wight council voted for the Priority Programme
The letter writer (Sam Smith) supporting the petition refers to (the people we vote to represent us …) made the correct decision to vote against applying to be considered for a fast-track decision for devolution alongside Portsmouth and Southampton.
Actually, that is not what happened. The councillors of the Isle of Wight council, across two meetings, Full Council (12) and Cabinet (7), voted to agree to ask for the Priority Programme by nineteen votes for to sixteen against.
Cabinet did not vote for devolution
And further references to ‘Cabinet did not just vote for devolution; they voted to take away our right to vote for another 12 months’.
That is incorrect. The decision about Devolution was not part of any consideration or vote. The decision was to ask Government to be included in the Priority Programme.
The vote was to request fast-tracking
This Council, along with Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton had already submitted an Expression of Interest for a devolution arrangement with Government back in the autumn of 2024. The issue to be voted on was one of fast track, or not.
That is the issue that nineteen councillors voted to support in the fast track ask of Government.
IWC can’t cancel elections
The Isle of Wight council, or councillors, cannot vote to take away elections. The council simply do not have those powers. It is for Government alone to defer elections, not the council or councillors.
Government has to first lay down legislation to enable deferral of elections and then allow that to happen. The previous Conservative Government did so in 2021 when they deferred elections in North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Somerset to allow re-organisation to take place.
We can’t stop devolution happening
The writer then talks about ‘preventing devolution from going ahead’. Well, we can’t and won’t get to do that because Government have made it crystal clear they are implementing devolution right across the country.
It is happening, sooner or later, and we should make sure we are at the table from the outset to make certain we get to negotiate with Government directly.
Government will intervene
For Government have made it very clear also. They are not going to allow ‘White Spaces’ (government-speak for areas that are not attached to any devolution deal) and they expect those areas to resolve the local devolution areas for themselves, locally. But if they do not, then Government have made it clear they will intervene and arrange for the White Spaces to become part of an adjoining devolution area.
Cementing, once again the ‘long history of being undermined and underwritten’ (done to?) for the Island that the writer also talks about.
We do not get to drop out of (or do not start them in the first place) devolution area talks and then just rejoin them, when you think it suits you. It doesn’t work like that.
Time doesn’t stand still for IWC
Had this Island not progressed the Priority Programme route with our devolved area partner authorities, not signalled we wanted fast track (as the council voted to pursue) then the three other authorities would have simply pressed on without us.
A huge powerhouse of a region was not about to wait for our Island to ponder and contemplate when we were ready. Government had set the timeframe and that was it. 10th January 2025. The other Authorities were in.
Had we not followed that pathway we were out of the devolved area deal and process and that was that.
Without early negotiations, IWC would have had no say
Until of course, in a years’ time (or so) when the Solent area deal was negotiated by the other three authorities, the powers agreed and the money arranged and we were forced into joining, by Government, having had no say in any of the devolved deal.
It would have been the worst outcome of all for our Island.
And, since devolution is going to happen, why wait anyway? We should try to avail ourselves of the opportunity devolution can bring (and has brought to other areas already) by asking for the priority route. Even now there are no guarantees Government will grant us access to this fast track. We will ultimately be worse off as an Island if we are unsuccessful in this ask of Government.
IWC have no control over the timeframes or Government
The elections are a consequence of Government’s speed and determination to deliver devolution. The timeframes that Government have imposed on our Council. We have no control over those or Government.
If we are to deliver Devolution and all that is involved in that, then the election period will delay the process. Government know that which is why they are prepared to delay the elections to enable the fast-track devolution to take place. The two cannot go together.
Can’t have negotiations and elections at same time
This council cannot deliver priority devolution and hold elections at the same time. And neither can Hampshire. One of the devolved area partners.
Government knows it. The Minister Jim Macmahon is an ex-council leader himself and knows it.
And the fact is, if the priority programme is not granted to the Island (or Hampshire) then elections will simply go ahead.
Catch up on the latest in relation to the Devolution plans by accessing OnTheWight’s Solent Devolution archive. Ed
