Lake North By-Election To Be Contested By All Isle Of Wight Political Parties

Candidates from all of the major Isle of Wight political parties will be contesting the Lake North by-election, due to be held on May 1.

They include Emily Brothers of the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats’ Julie Burridge, David Maclean for Reform UK, Robert May with the Green Party, Sarah Morris as an independent and Adrian Whittaker from the Conservatives.

The County Hall race follows the resignation of Conservative county councillor Tig Outlaw who left office last month.

Adrian Whittaker, a Lake parish councillor and deputy mayor of Shanklin Town Council (STC), said he was “disappointed” that his opponents had not “put themselves forward” to also be Lake parish councillors.

He said:

“I am the only candidate to stand for both elections, it makes me wonder if they really have the interests of Lake residents at heart.”

Robert May, a STC councillor and Southern Co-op duty manager, said he wanted to give people the opportunity to vote Green and for someone committed to looking after the environment.

Sarah Morris previously stood as Reform UK’s general election candidate for Isle of Wight East but was not endorsed by the party to stand as a local councillor.

As a prospective County Hall representative, she is pledging ‘regular local surgeries’ and to put Lake North’s interests above a ‘party agenda’.

Emily Brothers, who stood as the Labour Party’s Isle of Wight East general election candidate, previously said:

“I’m stepping forward to serve residents in Lake North, working with the community to tackle everyday challenges and seek opportunities to flourish.”

David Maclean and Julie Burridge have been contacted for a comment.

Where contested, the Island’s town, parish and community council elections will be held on May 1.