Isle of Wight Council

Isle of Wight Council
220px Council logo
Type
Type	Unitary Authority
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
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	2 May 2013
Meeting place
250px
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.

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.

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. 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. 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
	Independent	16
	Conservative	14
	Labour	2
	UKIP	2
	Liberal Democrat	1
	Other	5

Coat of arms and flag

Main articles: Coat of arms of the Isle of Wight and Flag of the Isle of Wight

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.

External links

• Isle of Wight Council official website