Harry Fone: A browse through council contracts shows that extravagant spending continues

Free laptops for EU conferences. Town Hall Pravdas. Plus a “Brewery and Visitor Centre” on the Isle of Wight.

Donna Jones: Red tape is thwarting the efforts of the police to fight crime

Well-intentioned requirements are causing time to be wasted on form fillings and meeting pointless targets.

Bob Seely: The Government’s current approach to housing needs intelligent, sensitive reforms – not a complete overhaul

I take issue with Henry Hill’s recent article for ConservativeHome on the matter. Here’s why.

Chris Whitehouse: Don’t extrapolate too much from the Isle of Wight local election results

Despite the Conservatives’ loss of overall control, the results don’t make optimistic reading for either Labour or the Lib Dems.

Be ready for a general election in the spring of 2023

These elections were very good indeed for the Conservatives – though there are warning signs of a potential Blue Wall effect in the south.

Chris Whitehouse: Councillor allowances should go up, not down

We need to ensure we are attracting those who can deliver effective and efficient services to our local communities.

Bob Seely: The Government must urgently re-assess its misguided housebuilding strategy

How can ministers claim to be ‘levelling up’ the country when they are slashing targets for the North and Midlands in favour of the overcrowded South?

Bob Seely: What the Isle of Wight has learned from trialling the NHS’s Coronavirus App

If enough of us download this app, we can, through our joint endeavours and the trace and test programme, suppress the virus.

Guy Mansfield: Overt digital surveillance can be justified in a crisis. But it must be time-limited.

Contact tracing will help the Government to take control of Covid-19. It must ensure the system does not continue indefinitely, however.

Bernard Jenkin: For their strategy to work, Ministers will need more than double the number of tracers that they plan to recruit

If only 6,000 people, with 45 contacts each, are infected every day, we will need a capacity of 276,000 tests just to keep up.

Dave Stewart: By trialling the Government’s app, the Isle of Wight is leading the fightback against the virus

Thousands of residents downloaded the App as soon as they were able to do so. 30,000 – at critical mass already -on the first morning of the launch.

Can the UK really follow South Korea? Five big issues as the Isle of Wight experiences contact tracing.

Technologically and culturally, the Asian country is a very different place – and it launched its programme before the virus could take root.

David Pugh: After the crisis, we need to continue with flexible planning policies to boost economic recovery

We could reduce or waive fees for applications that relate to business development. Virtual meetings can reduce delays.

The New Normal will be Very Abnormal Indeed. Here are 15 sets of questions about it.

How prepared are we for strict social distancing for the forseeable future, compulsory masks, closed leisure facilities – and a semi-functioning economy?

Coronavirus: some councils are doing better than others. And where are the Police and Crime Commissioners?

They should be ensuring that the police do not behave in a way that alienates people. Plus – the imperative to free up NHS beds.