Politics of the Isle of Wight

As a geographical entity distinct from the mainland, the Isle of Wight has always fought to have this identity recognised. The Isle of Wight is currently a ceremonial and Non-metropolitan county and local government is controlled by unitary authority. Prior to the 2024 United Kingdom General election, the island was the highest populated Westminster constituency in the country.

Political history

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Historically, the island was part of the historic county of Hampshire, previously called Southamptonshire.

Historic boroughs of the Island

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The island's most ancient borough was Newtown on the large natural harbour on the island's north-western coast. A French raid in 1377, that destroyed much of the town as well as other Island settlements, sealed its permanent decline. By the middle of the sixteenth century, it was a small settlement long eclipsed by the more easily defended town of Newport. Elizabeth I breathed some life into the town by awarding two parliamentary seats but this ultimately made it one of the most notorious of the Rotten Boroughs. By the time of the Great Reform Act that abolished the seats, it had just fourteen houses and twenty-three voters. The Act also disenfranchised the borough of Yarmouth and replaced the four lost seats with the first MP for the whole Isle of Wight. Newport retained its two seats until the Second Reform Act 1867 which reduced its representation to one MP.[1] Newport lost its separate representation entirely as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.[2]

Local governance

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Often thought of as part of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight was briefly included in that county when the first county councils were created in 1888. However, a "Home Rule" campaign led to a separate Isle of Wight County Council being established in 1890, and the island has remained independent of mainland local government ever since.[citation needed] The island was, however, part of the "Assize county" of Hampshire.[3] Like inhabitants of many islands, Islanders are fiercely jealous of their real (or perceived) independence, and confusion over the Island's separate status is a perennial source of friction.[dubiousdiscuss][citation needed]

It was planned to merge the county back into Hampshire as a district in the 1974 local government reform, but a last minute change led to it retaining its county council. However, since there was no provision made in the Local Government Act 1972 for unitary authorities, the Island had to retain a two-tier structure, with a county council and two boroughs, Medina and South Wight.

The borough councils were merged with the county council on 1 April 1995 to form a single unitary authority, the Isle of Wight Council, as recommended by the Local Government Commission for England. The only significant present-day administrative link with Hampshire is the police service, which is joint between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

House of Commons representation

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From the 2024 general election onwards, the Isle of Wight has been split into two constituencies; Isle of Wight East and Isle of Wight West. Prior to this, the Isle of Wight formed a single constituency.

The constituency was traditionally a battleground between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Between 1974 and 1987, the seat was a Liberal seat, then becoming Conservative until 1997 when the Liberal Democrats won on a reduced Conservative vote. The seat reverted to the Conservatives in 2001, and has remained Conservative since, with the Liberal Democrats falling to fifth place in 2015, when UKIP came second. The Labour Party came second in 2017, with the Liberal Democrats and UKIP both losing their deposits.

2024 general election

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Isle of Wight East elected a new Conservative MP (Joe Robertson), while the incumbent Conservative MP Bob Seely lost election in Isle of Wight West to Richard Quigley (Labour).

General election 2024: Isle of Wight East[4][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Joe Robertson 10,427 30.6 −26.8
Reform UK Sarah Morris 7,104 20.8 N/A
Green Vix Lowthion 6,313 18.5 +4.5
Labour Emily Brothers 6,264 18.4 −5.7
Liberal Democrats Michael Lilley 3,550 10.4 N/A
Independent David Groocock 420 1.2 N/A
Majority 3,323 9.8
Turnout 34,078 61.0
Conservative hold Swing
General election 2024: Isle of Wight West[6][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Richard Quigley 13,240 38.6 +14.1
Conservative Bob Seely 10,063 29.3 −25.7
Reform UK Ian Pickering 5,834 17.0 N/A
Liberal Democrats Nick Stuart 2,726 7.9 N/A
Green Cameron Palin 2,310 6.7 −9.7
ADF Rachel Thacker 117 0.3 N/A
Majority 3,177 9.3
Turnout 34,290 61.9
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +19.8

2019 general election

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The Isle of Wight reelected Conservative incumbent Bob Seely as MP in the 2019 General Election.[8]

General election 2019: Isle of Wight[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Bob Seely 41,815 56.2 +4.9
Labour Richard Quigley 18,078 24.3 +1.3
Green Vix Lowthion 11,338 15.2 –2.1
Independent Network Carl Feeney 1,542 2.1 N/A
Independent Karl Love 874 1.2 N/A
Independent Daryll Pitcher 795 1.1 N/A
Majority 23,737 31.9 +3.6
Turnout 74,442 65.9 –1.4
Registered electors 113,021
Conservative hold Swing

2017 general election

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The sitting MP Andrew Turner stepped down at the 2017 United Kingdom general election held on 8 June after a controversy regarding remarks he made about homosexuality.[10] He was replaced as the Conservative candidate by Bob Seely, an Isle of Wight councillor and former soldier[11] who went on to be elected as the MP.

General election 2017: Isle of Wight[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Bob Seely 38,190 51.3 +10.6
Labour Julian Critchley 17,121 23.0 +10.2
Green Vix Lowthion 12,915 17.3 +4.0
Liberal Democrats Nicholas Belfitt 2,740 3.7 −3.8
UKIP Daryll Pitcher 1,921 2.6 −18.6
Independent Julie Jones-Evans 1,592 2.1 +2.1
Majority 21,069 28.3 +8.8
Turnout 74,479 67.3 +2.3
Conservative hold Swing +0.2

2015 general election

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Six candidates stood for the Isle of Wight constituency in the 2015 United Kingdom general election which was held on 7 May 2015.[14]

General election 2015: Isle of Wight[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Andrew Turner[16] 28,591 40.7 −6.0
UKIP Iain McKie[17] 14,888 21.2 +17.7
Green Vix Lowthion[18] 9,404 13.4 +12.1
Labour Stewart Blackmore[16] 8,984 12.8 +1.2
Liberal Democrats David Goodall[19] 5,235 7.5 −24.2
Independent Ian Stephens[20] 3,198 4.5 N/A
Majority 13,703 19.5 +4.5
Turnout 70,300 65.0 +1.1
Conservative hold Swing -11.8

2010 general election

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Eleven candidates stood for the Isle of Wight constituency in the 2010 United Kingdom general election which was held on 6 May 2010.[21]

General election 2010: Isle of Wight[21][22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Andrew Turner 32,810 46.7 −2.3
Liberal Democrats Jill Wareham 22,283 31.7 +2.2
Labour Mark Chiverton 8,169 11.6 −5.6
UKIP Michael Tarrant 2,435 3.5 +0.1
BNP Geoff Clynch 1,457 2.1 N/A
English Democrat Ian Dunsire 1,233 1.8 N/A
Green Bob Keats 931 1.3 N/A
Middle England Party Paul Martin 616 0.9 N/A
Independent Pete Harris 175 0.2 N/A
Independent Paul Randle-Jolliffe 89 0.1 N/A
Independent Edward Corby 66 0.1 −0.7
Majority 10,527 15.0
Turnout 70,264 63.9
Conservative hold Swing

2005 general election

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Five candidates contested the Isle of Wight constituency in the 2005 United Kingdom general election held on 5 May 2005.[23]

General election 2005: Isle of Wight[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Andrew Turner 32,717 48.9 +9.2
Liberal Democrats Anthony Rowlands 19,739 29.5 −5.8
Labour Mark Chiverton 11,484 17.2 +2.0
UKIP Michael Tarrant 2,352 3.5 +0.2
Independent Edward Corby 551 0.8
Majority 12,978 19.4
Turnout 66,843 61.3 +0.5
Conservative hold Swing +7.5

The election was expected to be a close race between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, but the high Conservative vote even surprised the successful candidate. The simultaneous local elections resulted in a Conservative landslide, and the high turnout and popular Conservative vote in the parliamentary election was likely to be a local sign of dissatisfaction with the incumbent, largely Liberal Democrat Council, as well as reflecting on the national issues. The Labour Party continued to buck the national trend and increased the Labour vote to the highest for over 30 years, whilst the UKIP, did not manage to make the breakthrough expected by some, and only slightly increased their vote share.

Local government

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After the 2017 local council elections, the Conservatives gained a majority of seats on the Isle of Wight Council. The Island Independents were the ruling group on the council between 2013 and January 2017, when the resignation of the council leader Jonathan Bacon led to a Conservative minority administration led by Dave Stewart.[25] The council had previously been Conservative controlled between 2005 and 2013.

2017 local council elections

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The local council elections were held on 4 May 2017.

Party Cllrs Gain/Loss
Conservative Party 25 +10
  Independents 11 -9
Liberal Democrats 2 +1
Green 1 +1
Labour Party 1 -1
UK Independence Party 0 -2
Total 40 -

2013 local council elections

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The local council elections were held on 2 May 2013.

Party Cllrs Gain/Loss
  Independents 20 +11
Conservative Party 15 -9
Labour Party 2 +1
UK Independence Party 2 +2
Liberal Democrats 1 -3
  Others [26] 0 -2
Total 40 -

2009 local council elections

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The local council elections were held on 4 June 2009, the same date as the European Parliament elections. Following a review by the Boundary Commission for England the number of councillors was reduced from 48 to 40, consisting of 38 single member constituencies and 1 double member constituency.[27]

Party 2005 Cllrs 2005 Cllrs, restated [28] Gain/Loss 2009 Cllrs
Conservative Party 35 29 -5 24
  Independents 5 4 +3 7
Liberal Democrats 5 4 +1 5
Labour Party 2 2 -1 1
  Others [26] 1 1 +2 3
Total 48 40 - 40

2005 local council elections

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The local council elections were held on 5 May 2005, the same date as the general election of that year.[29]

Party Cllrs Gain/Loss
Conservatives 35 +23
Liberal Democrats 5 -14
  Independents 5 -6
Labour 2 -3
  Others 1 0
Total 48 -

A local referendum on the issue of a directly elected mayor of the Isle of Wight was held at the same time as the local elections - this failed to pass, with 37,097 against to 28,786 for.[30]

Historical results

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Prior to 1995, these results are for Isle of Wight County Council.

Election Year Incumbent Party/Parties
1973 Independent
1977 Conservatives
1981 Liberals
1985 Liberal/Social Democrats
1989 Liberal Democrats
1993 Liberal Democrats
1995 Liberal Democrats
1998 No Overall Control (Liberal Democrats largest grouping)
2001 No Overall Control; Island First (Liberal Democrats and Independents) controlling group.
2005 Conservative Party
2009 Conservative Party
2013 Island Independents
2017 Conservative Party

EU referendum

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The Isle of Wight voted 62% to leave the European Union in the 2016 EU referendum, compared with 52% nationally.

 
United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
Isle of Wight
Choice Votes %
Leave the European Union 49,173 61.91%
Remain a member of the European Union 30,207 38.03%
Valid votes 79,380 99.94%
Invalid or blank votes 50 0.06%
Total votes 79,430 100.00%
Registered voters and turnout 109,844 72.31%
Source: [1]

European parliamentary representation

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The Isle of Wight was a part of the South East England region for the purposes of European Parliamentary elections.

2019 European parliamentary elections

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The following results are exclusively for the Isle of Wight; results are collated regionally prior to MEPs being assigned under the closed list proportional representation system.[31]

Party Votes Percentage Share SE England Share SE England MEPs
Brexit Party 19,392 46.67 36.07 4
Green Party 6,855 16.49 13.52 1
Liberal Democrats 6,557 15.55 25.75 3
Conservatives 3,577 8.60 10.25 1
Labour 2,481 5.97 7.27 1
UK Independence 1,292 3.10 2.22 0
Change UK 1,107 2.66 4.17 0
UK EU 127 0.30 0.3 0
Jason McMahon 52 0.12 0.14 0
David Round 50 0.12 0.1 0
Socialist (GB) 39 0.9 0.14 0
Michael Tuberville 22 0.05 0.6 0

2014 European parliamentary elections

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The results of the 2014 European Parliament election on the Isle of Wight were as follows.[32]

Party Votes Percentage Share SE England Share SE England MEPs
UK Independence 14,533 40.93 32.14 4
Conservatives 9,335 26.29 30.95 3
Green Party 3,854 10.85 9.05 1
Labour 3,708 10.44 14.66 1
Liberal Democrats 1,969 5.55 8.04 1
  An Independence from Europe 841 2.37 1.93
  English Democrats 341 0.96 0.76
BNP 294 0.83 0.72
  Christian Peoples 237 0.67 0.64
  Peace 139 0.39 0.43
  Socialist (GB) 77 0.22 0.23
  Roman Party 52 0.15 0.13
  YOURVoice 49 0.14 0.12
  Liberty GB 42 0.12 0.11
  Harmony Party 35 0.10 0.08
  Rejected Ballots 94

Turnout on the Isle of Wight was 35,600 out of an electorate of 111,879 (31.82%)

2009 European parliamentary elections

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The results of the 2009 European election on the Isle of Wight were as follows.[33]

The following results are exclusively for the Isle of Wight; results are collated regionally prior to MEPs being assigned under the closed list proportional representation system.

Party Votes Percentage Share SE England Share SE England MEPs
Conservatives 14,122 32.3 34.8 4
UK Independence 9,563 21.9 18.8 2
Green 5,380 12.3 11.6 1
Liberal Democrats 5,112 11.7 14.1 2
Labour 2,607 6.0 8.2 1
British National Party 2,223 5.1 4.4
  English Democrats 1,148 2.6 2.2
  Christian Party 736 1.7 1.5
  No2EU 461 1.1 0.9
  United Kingdom First 380 0.9 0.7
  Socialist Labour Party 343 0.8 0.7
  Jury Team 274 0.6 0.6
  Libertas 247 0.6 0.7
  The Peace Party 201 0.5 0.4
  The Roman Party 101 0.2 0.2
  Rejected Ballots 811 1.9

Turnout on the Isle of Wight was 43,709 on an electorate of 109,796 (39.81%)

2004 European parliamentary elections

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The results of the 2004 European election on the Isle of Wight were as follows.[34]

The following results are exclusively for the Isle of Wight; results are collated regionally prior to MEPs being assigned under the closed list proportional representation system.

Party Votes Percentage Share SE England Share SE England MEPs
Conservatives 11,341 32.4% 35.2% 4
UK Independence 9,913 28.4% 19.5% 2
Liberal Democrats 4,234 12.1% 15.3% 2
Labour 3,479 9.9% 13.7% 1
Green 2,745 7.8% 7.9% 1
  Senior Citizens 1,237 3.5% 1.9%
British National Party 918 2.6% 2.9%
  English Democrats 523 1.5% 1.3%
  Peace 151 0.4% 0.6%
  Christian Alliance 140 0.4% 0.5%
  ProLife Alliance 103 0.3% 0.3%
Respect 100 0.3% 0.6%
  Independent - Rhodes 81 0.2% 0.3%

Regionally, turnout was 36.5% on an electorate of 6,087,103.

Local political issues

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For many years, there has been debate over whether or not a bridge or tunnel should connect the island with mainland Britain. This became more of an issue towards the end of the twentieth century, when it became more economically and technically feasible to build such a link, with the bridge to the Isle of Skye as a model. Continuing debate centres on whether a fixed link is desirable.

Around the start of the 21st century, the Isle of Wight Party campaigned from a positive position, although extensive public debate on the subject revealed a strong body of opinion against such a proposal. In 2002, the Isle of Wight Council debated the issue and made a policy statement against the proposal, whilst MP Andrew Turner remains opposed to the construction of a link.

Arguments in favour of a fixed link tend to concentrate upon the increased ease of access to and from the Island and a possible economic benefit from improved communications with the mainland. People of all ages often express dissatisfaction with the cost of cross-Solent travel, and although this is not quite the same issue as the link debate, the two are often combined by the assumption that a fixed link would be cheaper.[35]

Arguments against a fixed link include the inevitable rise in property prices stemming from making it easier to commute to cities like London (thus increasing strain on lower wage families); the risk of losing local services and facilities to the much larger and economically more active south Hampshire conurbation; the expected rise in rural crime (which increased sharply in Hampshire in 2014);[36] and a risk to the unique island culture and environment. An expected increase in street crime is also an issue. Overall crime rates on the island are however already at levels comparable to similar areas on the mainland and in many cases higher than other nearby areas in south Hampshire.[37]

Although those in favour of a fixed link tend to envisage a tolled road link in the same vein as the bridge to Skye, plans have also been proposed for passenger-only rail and tram links under the Solent, linking Ryde with Portsmouth and Gosport. These kind of plans have tended to win more support with island residents in the past.[38] However a survey commissioned and run by the Pro Link campaign suggested in 2017 that public opinion on the island was beginning to change in favour of a road link.[39]

Autonomy and political recognition

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A number of discussions about the status of the island have taken place over many years, with standpoints from the extreme of wanting full sovereignty for the Isle of Wight, to what could be described as the opposite extreme of merging the county back into Hampshire. The pro-independence lobby had a formal voice in the early 1970s with the Vectis National Party. Their main claim was that the sale of the island to the crown in 1293 was unconstitutional (see History of the Isle of Wight). However, this movement now has little serious support.

Since the 1990s the debate has largely taken the form of a campaign to have the Isle of Wight recognized as a distinct region by organizations such as the EU, due to its relative poverty within southern England. One argument in favour of special treatment is that this poverty is not acknowledged by such organizations as it is distorted statistically by retired and wealthy (but less economically active) immigrants from the mainland.

In 2022, as part of the Levelling Up White Paper, an "Island Forum" was proposed, which would allow local policymakers and residents on the Isle of Wight to work alongside their counterparts in Orkney, Shetland, the Western Isles and Anglesey on common issues, such as broadband connectivity, and provide a platform for them to communicate directly with the government on the challenges island communities face in terms of levelling up.[40][41][42]

Wind turbines

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Wind turbines has been an issue the island has remained divided over since proposals were first put forward, with many residents in the West Wight, where they are likely to be built claiming they would be unsightly and create a lot of noise. In protest against wind turbines the pressure group ThWART was formed (The Wight Against Rural Turbines) with the aim of working with the council to adopt a realistic renewable energy policy with solutions other than wind turbines, claiming that any on the island would be inappropriately sited.

Initially plans were put forward for seven turbines to be built on land close to Wellow with many people around the area criticising the plan with the view that better alternatives could be found. Petitions were set up by local residents before the planning application was put forward to the council,[43] and the plans were later rejected.[44] Following this several other applications have been submitted to the council for turbines at various locations including small wind turbines at Ventnor Golf Club. Plans for small turbines at Cheverton Down have already been given the go ahead but plans for larger ones at 125 metres tall were rejected by Isle of Wight Council planners on 3 December 2009.[45] It is still unclear whether developers will appeal against this decision.[46]

General views from residents on the island have been mixed to proposals, and it is therefore unclear when and where wind turbines will eventually be constructed. The Isle of Wight Council stated that in a survey carried out at the beginning of 2009 on local residents attitudes towards wind turbines were two to one against, with 612 in favour and 1,328 against Cheverton Down proposals.[47]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  2. ^ Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Schedule 1, Part 1. Boroughs to cease as such.
  3. ^ Mogg, Edward. "Circuits of the judges" in Paterson's Roads. Eighteenth Edition. London. 1831. p 712.
  4. ^ "General Election Results IW East Constituency". Isle of Wight Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Isle of Wight East results". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. ^ "General Election Results IW West Constituency". Isle of Wight Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Isle of Wight West results". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  8. ^ "General Election 2019: Conservative Bob Seely re-elected as Isle of Wight MP". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  9. ^ Candidates iow.gov.uk [dead link]
  10. ^ "Andrew Turner steps down as Isle of Wight MP after outcry over alleged homosexuality comments". Isle of Wight County Press. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Bob Seely chosen by Isle of Wight Conservatives as general election candidate". Isle of Wight County Press. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Isle of Wight LibDem MP hopeful one of youngest in country". 22 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Isle of Wight Green Party reselects Vix Lowthion as Parliamentary Candidate". isleofwight.greenparty.org.uk.
  14. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). 30 March 2018., Isle of Wight Council
  15. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  16. ^ a b "ISLE OF WIGHT 2015". electionresults.blogspot.co.uk.
  17. ^ "Iain McKie | Isle of Wight Parliamentary Candidate". Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
  18. ^ "Isle of Wight Green Party announce parliamentary candidate". isleofwight.greenparty.org.uk.
  19. ^ "Campaign Launch". David Goodall. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Ian Stephens to stand as Independent candidate for Isle of Wight MP". Isle of Wight News from OnTheWight. 22 January 2015.
  21. ^ a b Statement of Persons Nominated Archived 12 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Isle of Wight Council
  22. ^ "Island set for race to be next MP". www.iwcp.co.uk.
  23. ^ "Isle of Wight Parliamentary eledction results 2005". Isle of Wight Council. Archived from the original on 14 April 2005. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  24. ^ "IWight – Isle of Wight General election results 2005". iwight.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  25. ^ "Isle of Wight Council selects Conservative leader". BBC News.
  26. ^ a b Those individuals who chose not to state a political affiliation, or be named as 'independents' on the ballot.
  27. ^ "Isle of Wight Council election results". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  28. ^ The number of councillors received in 2005 multiplied by 0.833 to reflect the reduced number of councillors. No attempt has been made to account for altered boundaries and geographic distribution of support.
  29. ^ "Isle of Wight Coouncil election 2005". Isle of Wight County Press. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  30. ^ "Island says 'No Mayor'". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  31. ^ "EU election Isle of Wight results 2019. Update: MEPs selected". Isle of Wight News from OnTheWight. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  32. ^ EU Results iwight.com
  33. ^ "2009 European Parliamentary Election results for the Isle of Wight" (PDF). Isle of Wight Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  34. ^ "European Parliament Election Results 2004" (PDF). House of Commons. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  35. ^ "Rural crime on the rise in Hampshire". Basingstoke Gazette. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  36. ^ Compare your area police.uk [dead link]
  37. ^ "Fixed link campaign reveals Isle of Wight survey results". Isle of Wight County Press. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  38. ^ Cope, Chris (3 February 2021). "New islands forum should not be 'box ticking exercise'". The Shetland News. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  39. ^ Paveley, Rebecca (11 February 2021). "Gove announces Levelling-up forum for islands". Church Times. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  40. ^ Toogood, Darren (2 February 2021). "Isle of Wight to be invited into Island Forum to help level up the community". Island Echo. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  41. ^ "Fight against monsters on the wellow horizon". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
  42. ^ "Windfarm plan appeal ditched". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
  43. ^ "New wind turbines double size". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
  44. ^ "Turbine plan rejected". Isle of Wight County Press. Archived from the original on 6 December 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  45. ^ "Windfarms: Voting two to one against". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 28 November 2009.