The local election results are in for the Isle of Wight and despite Reform UK making huge gains, the council remains under no overall control.
Reform UK have replaced all Conservative seats, bar two, when compared with the 2021 local election results.
The wards which have remained Conservative are Fairlee and Whippingham and Ventnor and St Lawrence.
The island has been run by coalition of independents and Green councillors, known as the Alliance Group, since the last election in 2021.
Use our interactive map to see the results of each seat in the Isle of Wight elections.
The new makeup of the Isle of Wight council is as follows:
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Reform UK – 19
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Independent – 11
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Liberal Democrat – 4
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Conservative – 2
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Green – 2
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Labour – 1
The Isle of Wight has very much been a target for Nigel Farage and Reform UK, with a candidate standing in every one of the Unitary Authority’s 39 seats.
Mr Farage launched his campaign with a rally on the island back in March.
With Reform UK winning 19 wards and with the party being short of winning overall control, there will be a lot of private discussions going on to see if they can arrange some form of power sharing within the next couple of weeks.
All of the votes have now been counted on the island Credit: ITV Meridian
The Isle of Wight is a unitary authority which means a single government body based in Newport runs all local services within its area, including education, housing, planning, social care, and waste management.
Voters will be some of the oldest in the UK as the population on the island has a greater proportion of people aged over 50, and a lower proportion of working aged people aged 20 to 44 years.
The island is also the 83rd most deprived authority in England according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2025.
However, Ryde and Ventnor fall within the most deprived areas in the country.
The Isle of Wight Council in Newport runs all local services including education, housing, planning, social care, and waste management. Credit: ITV Meridian
The population of the Isle of Wight in 2024 is estimated to be around 141,00 people.
The Island’s population is expected to increase by 3.5% between 2024 to 2031. This equates to an increase of almost 5,000 people.
Any party that takes control will have to manage ever-increasing demands of social care, and navigate local government reorganisation.
The Isle of Wight Council will survive council changes, but is due to fall under the new Hampshire and the Solent mayoral authority.
For the island, this means these elections will choose who oversees a period of change, as the makeup of councils on the mainland in Hampshire changes.
It’s not just a vote for a party, this vote will shape how the island changes in the years to come.
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