Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2007 | Page 37

INTERVIEW

Photo above:
David joins in with the Samba Band which was
raising money for the local hospice for which
Davids father works as a MacMillan nurse.

the contrast with London’s party politics:
“Here, 95 per cent of my work is to do
with people's problems and concerns in
Shanklin. It’s a reality check sometimes.”
So even the day after being put in place
as Leader he is working out how he’s
going to carry on looking after the people
in his ward. “I am increasingly picking
up a lot of calls at weekends. After all, if
I don’t do that side of my job, the grass
roots stuff, I won’t be elected again.”
So here he is, Leader of the Isle of Wight
council, arguably the most powerful man
on the Island. Is he now rich beyond
his wildest dreams? Probably not, since
his salary is £32,000 – which works
out at around £8 per hour. But you
feel that’s not his biggest concern.
Is he scared? “Yes, massively, it’s very
daunting. I’m sorry Andy felt he needed
to stand down – particularly as he’s been
personally supportive of me. But although
I’m the public face, I’m only one of seven
or eight on the cabinet, and one of several

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thousand wider council workers who are
doing the hard graft. It’s a real honour to do
the decision making – but I can only do that
by listening to what people have to say.”
So what is the fallout at the end of a
week that can only be described as one of
“shock and awe”? As well as Andy Sutton,
his deputy leader stepped down. David
is taking on housing and leisure, Alan
Wells is in charge of children and young
people, and George Brown is his number
two, with emphasis on tourism. Apart from
that there are no changes yet. “There’s
no need to rush,” says David, “we’ve got
all the other things covered. There isn’t
going to be a night of the long knives!
Councillors can sleep easy in their beds!”
Deputy Leader is the mature and
experienced George Brown. “It’s a nice
balance,” says David, “he’s got great
business experience, but, even at my
age, I’ve got more political experience
than many people get over their whole
careers, having worked in central office.”
Top of David's “to do” list is education,
and he is, he says, very aware of the
polarised views on which direction to take
regarding the Island’s schools. Teachers
and parents are unsettled. “There is no
point in us as a council deciding which
way we want to go and expecting the
professionals in education to follow.
They know their stuff, they are focussed
on getting it right. We need to work with
them to win their hearts and minds.”
Does that imply decisions have already

life

food for thought:
For many years people on the
Island have complained that
the island is administered by
the older generation. At last the
island has a Council Leader who
is young, energetic and intelligent
and is bursting with ideas, but
has the humility to listen to his
more experienced advisors.
The question is, will Islander's
support him? Of course there
will be those who oppose him
and will question his ability on
the grounds of his youth. Will the
Isle of Wight give him a chance,
and be happy that there is at last
some young blood at the helm?

been made and he’s hoping a bit of team
building will win over teachers? “No,
nothing’s done and dusted. The issue
of whether Year Nine go into Middle
Schools is genuinely still not decided. We
need to listen to the arguments on both
sides to make an informed decision.”
Next is tourism and how it should be
tackled. This is a prickly issue, which
caused Nigel Smith, who was head of
tourism on the council, to walk out. “He
had a different view from us as to where
he wanted to take tourism,” David says.
“We’re best a Bf