Isle of Wight Council

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.

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. 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.

The Isle of Wight County Council was therefore established 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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:

Upper-tier authority: Isle of Wight County Council

Unitary authority: Isle of Wight Council

Leadership
The leaders of the council since 2007 have been:

Composition
Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2024, the composition of the council was as follows: Of the independent councillors, ten (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 councillors, which forms the council's administration. Of the other five independent councillors, three sit together as the "Empowering Islanders" group and the other two (one of whom describes themselves as "Independent Labour") do not form part of a group. The next election is due in 2025.

Premises
The council meets and has its main offices at County Hall on High Street in Newport.

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.

By the 1930s, many of the council's offices were at the former Swan Hotel and adjacent houses in High Street, Newport. 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.

Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2021 the island has been divided into 39 electoral divisions, each of which elects one councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Coat of arms
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".