Whilst concerned residents and supporters of the OneWight Campaign are forwarding letters to the Deputy Prime Minister voicing their concerns at the decision to divide the Isle of Wight into two separate constituencies, with one merging with the mainland.
Isle of Wight Council Leader Cllr David Pugh has addressed a letter on behalf of the Isle of Wight Council to Prime Minister David Cameron in support of the benefits of retaining one MP for the Isle of Wight.
As previously reported on Island Pulse:
As part of the government’s shake-up of parliamentary representation across the UK, Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg MP, announced recently that part or parts of the Island will be merged with one or more mainland constituencies. An Island-wide ONEWIGHT campaign was launched to fight proposals that will divide the Isle of Wight into different Parliamentary constituencies.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, Cllr Pugh focuses on key issues to do with governance and representation. It asks that the unique circumstances of the Isle of Wight are not only taken into account in terms of agreeing how our parliamentary representation is defined, but also when determining how public services are constituted and locally managed.
If the formula of what is proposed for public health and provider health services is applied in a uniform manner across the country, the Isle of Wight could end up with health services being overseen from the mainland.
This may be considered as a retrograde step which could dilute the quality of provision being offered to Island residents, and its local accountability to them. This issue is of far greater significance than how our parliamentary representation is constituted, given how public services have such a day-to-day impact on the lives of local residents.
The letter also sets out an Island based solution, with an overall focus on achieving greater on-Island accountability for how public services are provided.
In Summary of the letter to the Prime Minister Cllr Pugh writes:
Essentially, we are asking that the unique circumstances of the Isle of Wight are not only taken into account in terms of agreeing how our parliamentary representation is defined, but also when determining how public services are constituted and locally managed. In many ways, the latter issue is of far greater significance than how our parliamentary representation is constituted – and that is certainly our focus as the local authority, given how public services have such a day-to-day impact on the lives of local residents.
As a distinct and defined community – by the indisputable physical characteristics that make us an island – we are indicating a willingness to forgo our equitable entitlement to parliamentary representation, but wish instead to essentially receive over-entitlement in terms of which public services are wholly based on and commissioned from the Isle of Wight. We consider that our clearly defined boundaries should be the key measure by which the governance and management of local services are constituted for our community.
Furthermore, I must stress that we do not wish to be an isolated island – and remain strongly committed to working in partnership with others. For example, we have just submitted a Local Enterprise Partnership proposal with our local authority counterparts on the other side of the Solent (with strong private sector involvement). However, our overall focus remains on seeing the governance and management of essential services retained on the Isle of Wight. We wish to make these services more accountable to our active and engaged community; which certainly aligns with the Coalition Government’s ambitions.
We would welcome the opportunity to develop these concepts further with the Department for Communities & Local Government, the Cabinet Office and / or other relevant government departments, and in doing so provide an opportunity for the Coalition Government’s reform agenda being rapidly implemented at a local level.
The Isle of Wight has historically been a test bed for new initiatives and unique governance models – a role which we would relish the opportunity to take up with renewed vigour.
The letter ends with the hope that the Isle of Wight can become a strong and effective delivery arm for the Coalition’s Programme for Government.
ONEWIGHT Relevant weblinks:
Follow the One Wight Campaign on Twitter : http://twitter.com/OneWight
Follow the One Wight Campaign on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142679605743201
To follow the progress of the ONEWIGHT Campaign visit www.onewight.org.uk
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