You have to look back a whole 16 years to find the last time that Godshill actually went to the polls and elected its Parish Council. This sorry state of affairs is not uncommon on the Isle of Wight. Of the councils and wards at first tier level, in nearly 75%, residents are NOT getting the chance to vote as there are insufficient candidates standing.
Oddly enough, the total number of candidates standing for all the seats in the island’s parish and town councils is almost exactly equal to the number of seats available. Shame they can’t shuffle them all around so they can all have a go, then nobody on the island would need to vote at this level.
Sadly, only 5 candidates are standing for the 6 seats on the Godshill Parish Council. Three of the five current councillors, Pat Button, Alison Child and Yasmin Nigh, are staying on and there are two new councillors, Carl Donoclift who lives in the High Street and currently owns Leal’s Tea Gardens and Amanda Taylor of Koala Cottage Bed and Breakfast in Church Hollow.
Residents will still have the opportunity to vote as there are three candidates for the Central Rural seat on the Isle of Wight Council. There is no independent candidate replacing Rodney Downer who, in the 2017 election took a massive 88% of the vote. With the change of boundaries splitting Godshill from Wroxall, Rodney, as a Wroxall resident, is standing in Wroxall, Lowtherville and Bonchurch.
The three candidates for the Central Rural seat are:
Suzie Ellis (Conservative) – address withheld
Richard Andrew Hill (Labour) – Main Road, Arreton
Julia Ann Laursen (Green) – Main Road, Chillerton