Voters in Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet will head to the polls today (Thursday), to fill a vacancy on the Isle of Wight Council.
It follows the resignation of leading Conservative councillor, Steve Hastings, who said he had become 'disillusioned' by local and national politics following the turmoil in the Conservative Party nationally.
A by-election will now be held for a new councillor, completing the council chamber once again.
Who is standing?
- Doug Alldred – Green Party
- Carol Bryan – Conservative Party
- Gary Clarke – Labour Party
- Nick Stuart – Liberal Democrat
- Stephen J. Parkes – Vectis Party
Where are polling stations?
Polls will open on Thursday from 7am and close at 10pm.
There are six polling stations to cast your vote at, or drop off your postal vote if you had not been able to post it.
They are:
- Wilberforce Hall, North Street, Brighstone
- Seely Hall, Brook
- Calbourne Recreation Centre, School Lane
- Porchfield Village Hall
- Newbridge Community Centre, Main Road
- Shalfleet Village Hall, Church Lane
Your polling station will be stipulated on your poll card.
When can we find out the results?
Polls will close at 10pm with the count starting shortly after.
Once all the votes have been counted and checked, a winner will be announced, potentially early Friday morning.
What happened at previous elections?
Mr Hastings was elected to the seat in 2018 and retained his place on the authority in 2021 by a 170-vote margin.
The turnout was just under 50 per cent of the ward and Mr Hastings was elected with 549 votes, beating other candidates from the Liberal Democrats, Nick Stuart (377 votes) and the Green Party, Doug Alldred (335).
What could the result mean?
The seat has been a Conservative stronghold for many years and was the former ward of now MP Bob Seely, when he was on the council.
If the Conservative candidate (Carol Bryan) were to win, it would bring the number of Tory councillors at County Hall back up to 18, the largest group on the Isle of Wight Council.
With Mr Hastings’ resignation, it dropped the Tories down to 17 councillors — the same number as the ruling Alliance administration.
If either the Labour (Gary Clarke), Liberal Democrat (Nick Stuart) or Vectis Party (Stephen J. Parkes) candidate were to win, they would join their sole representative on the council so far, making a party of two at County Hall.
For Labour, Cllr Richard Quigley represents Cowes North. For the Liberal Democrats, Cllr Andrew Garratt represents Parkhurst and Hunnyhill. For the Vectis Party, Cllr Daryll Pitcher represents Wootton Bridge.
Of those three parties, councillors have so far declined the offer of joining the Alliance administration, instead solely representing their political group.
If the Green Party candidate (Doug Alldred) were to win, he would have the chance to join his two fellow party members (Cllrs Claire Critchison and Joe Lever) in the Alliance administration while also representing his political group.
Should Mr Alldred do so, it would push the Alliance’s numbers back up to 18, following the resignation of Cllr Geoff Brodie from the group last year.
It would make the Alliance the biggest group on the council and hold the overall majority.
The Alliance administration has not put forward a candidate, but hoped to see the election of a candidate who would support them and the work they do.
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