For blinkered politicians in the Westminster bubble, perhaps the country can be easily divided into neat new portions (Voters like councillors more than MPs – so why is Labour wasting time destroying local democracy?, 3 March). Urban centres will benefit because their local representatives can carry on supporting a reasonably homogenous area. But for the Isle of Wight, the prospect of integration with Hampshire is a disaster.
It’s bad enough that successive governments have been indifferent to our unique circumstances, happy to persistently underfund our schools and medical facilities, and overlook the catastrophic effect of excessively expensive ferry travel, while pouring billions into other cities’ transport. We have paid our taxes, yet it seems everyone else benefits from subsidies that we contribute to. Why should we now want to subsidise yet another decision-making machine over the water?
