As more than 230 areas in England head to the polls to fill seats on their local councils, the Isle of Wight is not one of them. But why?
Local elections are taking place over the water in Southampton and Portsmouth, where both unitary authorities have seats up for grabs.
Changed to a Unitary council
When changes were made to the way the council was run, it led to the Island being placed on a different voting cycle than other parts of the country.
On the Island, the Isle of Wight council elected members in 2021, with all 39 seats being filled.
It saw the authority swing from Conservatives to one with no overall control, as new faces joined the authority and the council leader lost his seat.
By-election
Since then there has been one by-election for the seat of Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet which was formerly Conservative’s Steve Hastings, but went to Liberal Democrat’s Nick Stuart.
The next major election for the Isle of Wight council and town, parish and community councils will take place in May 2025.
First big test for Rishi Sunak
Election day today (4th May 2023) is being billed as one of the first big tests for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as it is the first mass election since he took office last year.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
