Isle of Wight Council

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox legislature Isle of Wight Council, known between 1890 and 1995 as Isle of Wight County Council, is the local authority for the Isle of Wight in England. Since 1995 it has been a unitary authority, being a county council which also performs the functions of a district council. It is based at County Hall in Newport. The council has been under no overall control since 2021, being led by a coalition of independent, Green, and Our Island councillors called the Alliance Group. With the introduction of a committee system, replacing the former cabinet model from May 2025, the council remains under Alliance leadership but with committee chairs elected from various parties.

History

Elected county councils were established in England and Wales in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions previously carried out by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions.<ref name="chamber">John Edwards, "County" in Chambers's Encyclopedia (London: George Newnes, 1955), pp.189–191</ref> As part of the historic county of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight was initially governed by Hampshire County Council. Shortly afterwards it was decided that the island should form its own administrative county, whilst remaining part of Hampshire for judicial and lieutenancy purposes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Guildhall, Newport: Council's first meeting place

The administrative county of the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Wight County Council were therefore established, by the Template:Visible anchor (52 & 53 Vict. c. clxxvii) with effect from 1 April 1890, on which day the council held its first official meeting at the Guildhall in Newport. Somerset Gough-Calthorpe was appointed the first chairman of the council.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Map of the districts from 1974 to 1995

Until 1974 the lower tier of local government comprised several boroughs, urban districts and a rural district. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the lower tier was reorganised and the island was left with two districts: Medina and South Wight.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref><ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> As part of the same reforms the island was reclassified as a non-metropolitan county and given its own Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff, finally making it separate from Hampshire for ceremonial as well as administrative purposes.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

File:Isle of Wight County Council.png

A pre-1995 logo of the county council

On 1 April 1995, following recommendations made by the Local Government Commission for England appointed in 1992, the two district councils were abolished and the county council assumed their functions, making it a unitary authority. It was renamed 'Isle of Wight Council' at the same time. It remains legally a county council, but one which also performs district functions. It was the first such unitary authority in England; many more were created from 1996 onwards.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

The council has been a member of the Islands Forum since 2022.

Governance

The council performs both district-level and county-level functions. The whole island is also covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2021 election, being led by a minority coalition called the Alliance Group, comprising some of the independent councillors, the Green Party and local party Our Island.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:<ref name=compositions>Template:Cite web (Put "Isle of Wight" in search box to see specific results.)</ref>

Upper-tier authority: Isle of Wight County Council

Party in control		Years
Template:Party name with colour	1974–1977
Template:Party name with colour	1977–1981
Template:Party name with colour	1981–1985
Template:Party name with colour	1985–1988
Template:Party name with colour	1988–1995

Unitary authority: Isle of Wight Council

Party in control		Years
Template:Party name with colour	1995–1998
Template:Party name with colour	1998–2005
Template:Party name with colour	2005–2013
Template:Party name with colour	2013–2017
Template:Party name with colour	2017–2021
Template:Party name with colour	2021–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2007 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Andy Sutton<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour		19 Sep 2007
David Pugh<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	19 Sep 2007	May 2013
Ian Stephens<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	May 2013	21 Jan 2015
Jonathan Bacon<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	21 Jan 2015	16 Jan 2017
Dave Stewart<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	18 Jan 2017	May 2021
Lora Peacey-Wilcox<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	26 May 2021	20 Sep 2023
Phil Jordan<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	20 Sep 2023

Composition

Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was as follows:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Party		Councillors
Template:Party name with colour	15
Template:Party name with colour	14
Template:Party name with colour	4
Template:Party name with colour	2
Template:Party name with colour	2
Template:Party name with colour	1
	Our Island	1
Total		39

Of the independent councillors, nine (two of whom belong to the Island Independent Network, part of the Independent Network, a national umbrella group supporting independent councillors) sit in the "Alliance Group" with the Green Party and Our Island councillor, which forms the council's administration. Of the other six independent councillors, three sit together as the "Empowering Islanders" group and three (one of whom describes themselves as "Independent Socialist") do not form part of a group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In February 2025, the government announced that it intended to postpone the elections that were due to take place in May 2025 for a year, to allow for alternative local government structures for the area to be considered.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Premises

The 1969 wing of County Hall

The council meets and has its main offices at County Hall on High Street in Newport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The council initially met at the Guildhall in Newport. In 1904 it moved its meeting place to the Technical Institute (now the Island Sixth Form) at the southern end of St James Street in Newport. Until the 1930s the council's administrative offices were split between several different buildings.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

By the 1930s, many of the council's offices were at the former Swan Hotel and adjacent houses in High Street, Newport.<ref>County Hall history at wightpedia.org.uk, accessed 2 May 2020</ref> A new building, designed in the Neo-Georgian style by Gutteridge and Gutteridge, was built on the same site and opened in October 1938. An extension was built on its east side in 1969.<ref name="lloyd">David Wharton Lloyd, Nikolaus Pevsner The Isle of Wight (Yale University Press, 2006, Template:ISBN), pp. 177-178</ref>

Elections

Template:Main Since the last boundary changes in 2021 the island has been divided into 39 electoral divisions, each of which elects one councillor. Elections are held every four years.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Coat of arms

Template:Main The coat of arms of the Isle of Wight was granted to the County Council in 1938. The shield shows a representation of Carisbrooke Castle, which was the historic seat of many island governors, surrounded by three gold anchors. At the bottom is the island's motto "All this beauty is of God".

See also

• List of electoral divisions in the Isle of Wight
• Isle of Wight Council elections
• Wightbus

External links

• Template:Official website