Isle of Wight Council

Isle of Wight Council

Council logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Leader
Cllr. Jonathan Bacon (Independent)
Chairman
Cllr. Ian Ward (Conservative)
Structure
Seats 40
Political groups
 Independents
 Conservative Party
 Labour Party
 UKIP
 Liberal Democrats
 Other
Elections
First past the post
Last election
2 May 2013
Meeting place
County Hall, Newport
Website
iwight.com

The Isle of Wight Council is a unitary authority covering the Isle of Wight near the South coast of England. It is currently made up of 40 seats, with Independents ruling with 20 councillors at the latest local election in May 2013.[1]

History

The council was formed on 1 April 1995, as a replacement of the old Isle of Wight County Council and Medina and South Wight Borough Councils.[2]

Elections

Elections to the council held in June 2005 led to significant changes in composition as the Conservatives took over from the Liberal Democrats as the largest group, winning seats primarily from the Lib Dems and Independents who had previously formed a united power block.[3] Later in the 2009 elections the Conservatives managed to hold on to their majority within the council by securing 24 of the revised number of 40 seats, however were the only Conservative council which actually lost seats that year.[4] In 2013, the Island Independents gained 20 seats, 1 short of a majority, with the Conservatives only gaining 15. As of January 2015, the Island Independents have lost 4 councillors, and the Conservatives 1. The Leader, Cllr. Ian Stephens stood down in the January 2015 Full Council meeting, the next day announcing he was to stand as the MP for the Isle of Wight. Cllr. Jonathan Bacon, representing Bembridge, Brading and St. Helens was elected, unopposed.

Party Composition as of 2013[5]
Independent 16
Conservative 14
Labour 2
UKIP 2
Liberal Democrat 1
Other 5

Coat of arms and flag

The Coat of arms of the Isle of Wight were first granted to the Isle of Wight County Council in 1938. In 1995 when this was abolished they were transferred to the present day Isle of Wight Council. The shield (pictured to the right) shows an image of Carisbrooke Castle, due to this being the historical seat of many former governors of the Isle of Wight. Along the bottom is the island's motto "All this beauty is of God". The shield showing Carisbrooke Castle forms the basis of the Isle of Wight Council Flag. Until January 2009 this was the only popularly known flag of the Isle of Wight and is used exclusively by the Council of local authority buildings, most notable on County Hall in Newport.

References

  1. Perry, Sally (2013-05-08). "It’s official: Independents in overall control of Isle of Wight Council". On the Wight. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  2. "The Isle of Wight (Structural Change) Order 1994". www.opsi.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  3. "Pledge to fulfil election promises". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  4. "Tories surge back in Island polls". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  5. Perry, Sally (2013-05-03). "Isle of Wight election: Independent councillors now the largest group". On the Wight. Retrieved 2013-05-12.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, September 05, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.