ISLAND LIFE MAGAZINE
k for Island MP
when their arguments are based
on sound evidence you can
understand why it is difficult
for the Government to make
exceptions to the standard
funding formula.
But backbenchers can and do
make a difference, particularly
when they work together to
achieve common aims – and
that is often most successful
when it is done on a cross-party
basis. Many people would be surprised
how much work in the House of
Commons is based on finding common
ground with people whose political
views differ from your own and work on
the areas you agree on rather than the
differences.
During the last Parliament I became
a founding Parliamentary Patron of the
Rural Fair Share group. The main aim
of the group (whose members include
Nobody can deny that there
are wonderful benefits to living
on the Isle of Wight, or in other
rural areas in England – but
there are also downsides, and
unfair Government funding is
one of them.
So I want to assure Islanders
that I will support the Isle of
Wight Council’s attempts to get
the Government to recognise
the additional costs they face.
But also over the next five years I will
work with parliamentary colleagues of
all parties to get a fairer deal for our rural
communities. I believe that the legislation
to ensure English votes for English Laws
will help in our campaign and I know this
Government is committed to listening
to what the Rural Fair Share Group have
to say. It will not be easy – but we believe
in what we are fighting for, and will not
give up.
Andrew Turner MP
The Riverside Centre,
The Town Quay, Newport
01983 530808
[email protected]
www.islandmp.org
MPs and Peers from across the political
spectrum) is to get the Government
to recognise and address the historic
imbalance in funding between rural and
urban areas. This has happened under
Governments of all colours. Research
published by the Rural Services Network
shows that rural residents earn less, on
average, than those in cities, pay higher
council tax, and see urban areas receive
Government grants fifty per cent higher
per head than those in the countryside.
“I want to assure Islanders that I will support the Isle of Wight Council’s
attempts to get the Government to recognise the additional costs they face.”
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