News and views

Island Roads are asking for feedback on a range of services they carry out on behalf of Isle of Wight Council. The annual survey is online and has twelve short questions. They ask residents to rank performance on things like road repairs, street lighting, and verge cutting. Each question has a box in which you can add further views. As it’s a short survey it doesn’t cover everything but it’s a useful way of drawing attention to problems. When I filled it out I included my concerns about how new road surfaces seem to crack up soon after. We’ve seen that in Noke Common, for example. I’ve also highlighted the need for street cleaning to be more frequent in trouble…

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As the nation entered its first lockdown last March, local elections across the country were postponed. For Islanders that meant that the election for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner was held over till May this year. This will now coincide with the elections for the Isle of Wight council, and for our many community, parish and town councils. But should they be held in May? Traditionally, political campaigning in the UK is through doorstep discussions and leaflet delivery. And for many of us that’s not just in the formal election period; the six week run-up to polling day. But, currently, we are in lockdown. Government ministers say that delivering leaflets and knocking on doors is…

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Island residents on low incomes who qualify for council tax support will have to pay more from April this year. The cut from 70% support to 65% was pushed through by the ruling Conservative group at a meeting of the Isle of Wight full council (20 January 2020). I put forward an amendment to the proposals to keep the current level of support. This was defeated by 20 Conservative votes to 17 (Lib Dems, independents, and one Conservative). Cutting support to residents who are already among the hardest hit financially cannot be right. This is especially so when so many more are facing hardship due to loss of jobs and income because of the Covid crisis. I also backed calls…

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