Island MP Andrew Turner.
THE Isle of Wight is set to have two MPs.
Island MP Andrew Turner said this morning (Tuesday) he is 'delighted' to announce the decision following discussions last night with the government about how the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill would affect the Isle of Wight.
The Bill is designed to cut the number of MPs and standardise the size of constituencies.
It originally allowed for only two named exceptions — both in Scotland — the Western Isles and Orkney & Shetland.
New constituencies will be an average size of around 76,000 voters which would have meant that part of the Island (which currently has 110,000 voters) would have been paired with the mainland, forming a cross-Solent constituency for the first time since the Great Reform Act of 1832.
Mr Turner said: "This is a stunning victory for the Island. When we first launched the One Wight campaign everybody discussed whether we should fight for two Island MPs but we came to a collective decision that we should put forward the message that the Island’s unique circumstances should be recognised — and if that meant continuing with a single MP it was preferable to any part of the Island being hived off and joined with the mainland."
The vigorous cross-party OneWight campaign, which was supported by the County Press, resulted last month in the House of Lords voting in favour of an amendment that would prevent any part of the Island being joined to the mainland to form a cross-Solent constituency.
That, in turn, resulted in the government amendment expected to be tabled today in the House of Commons.
Reporter: richardw@iwcpmail.co.uk