Phil waves the red Flag

Phil moved to the Island from Surrey in 1998 with his wife, Alison, and children, Luke and Eve, and from the start he was determined to shake things up.

"My first thought was that having to cross the Solent by ferry to get between the Island and the mainland was an anomaly," said Phil, 48, from Ventnor. "I thought that having a fixed link from the Island to the mainland would solve the problem.

"The economy of the Island was dying and I thought that a fixed link, having a rail system between Ryde and Portsmouth, would solve the problem.

"I formed a company called Linkland 2001 Limited in an effort to progress the fixed link idea, but I had underestimated the backlash I would receive from many Islanders.

"I remember saying to one old lady that the fixed link would stop the Island's economy dying. She replied that she wanted it that way.

"Many of the older Islanders have no feeling of responsibility for the younger generation and do not accept fresh thinking.

"The Isle of Wight has one of the highest levels of unemployment in the country and is riddled with kids taking drugs and causing problems, but no one will take things forward to change the Island for the better."

Phil, who is became known as "fixed-link Phil", is still campaigning for a fixed link and formed Flag, the Fixed Link Action Group, which has already antagonised anti-fixed link campaigners. Their response was to form Aflag, or Against Fixed Link Action Group.

Phil said: "Aflag believes that if the Island gets a fixed link, it will become the 'dormitory island for the mainland'.

"I have no doubt that a fixed link will happen eventually.

"We plan for it to be a public transport rail tunnel beneath the Solent. We are currently raising the funds for a DVD presentation of the project, and for a feasibility study to be carried out."

Phil and his family decided to move to the Isle of Wight because he considers it to be the most beautiful part of the UK.

"There is so much natural beauty here but also so much grumpiness," he said. "I do a spot on IOW radio with presenter Alex Dyke, who is really into my ideas, yet the comment I hear most from listeners is: "Who the hell do you think you are?'

"I have lost count of the number of times I have been called a 'durnoverner', which is an Islander word for someone from the mainland.

"Basically, some of the Islanders would like to round up all the mainlanders on the Island and shoot them. My response to that would be that my youngest son, three-year-old Theodore, was born on the Island and would it be fair to leave him without a father?"

Phil's most recent venture has been to try to open a cannabis caf in Ventnor, a story which was first revealed in the Isle of Wight edition of the Daily Echo.

"I came up with the idea of a cannabis caf following a guest spot on Alex Dyke's show, where we were discussing with listeners what to do with a shop unit I had bought.

"Three people from differing age groups suggested the cannabis caf idea to me. After that we were deluged with calls from people saying what a good idea it was.

"I thought it was a great idea. I wanted to join in the effort to get drugs off of the street and into a place where people who use drugs can be monitored.

"I have never advertised myself as being in favour of drugs. In fact I would consider myself to be anti-drugs.

"But I had to drop the idea after a visit from Ventnor police. I was told that if I allowed my premises to be used for the purpose of smoking marijuana, I would be liable to a 14-year prison sentence.

"I am just renovating the shop unit now to sell on. There is no point in me opening up a shop, as probably many people who are against my ideas will boycott it.

"Among the Islanders, 50 per cent admire what I do, but 50 per cent hate my guts."

Phil's latest campaign is the "all-party campaign for fair political representation". Phil believes that "there is a disproportionate number of older people living on the Island, causing financial problems and often diverting funds away from projects relevant to younger people".

The campaign aims to make the Island more desirable for younger people to both stay and move there, in the spirit of balancing the age proportions.

Phil explained: "I am campaigning for a more suitable selection of age groups to stand to represent certain council seats at election time.

"I think that more younger people should stand and the upper age limit be restricted to 60. I believe that all parties should consider fielding a majority of candidates who are no older than 56 at the time of election.

"Most of the councillors are older and tend to legislate for old people. They have crust viewpoints, and don't want to do anything for the younger generation.

"I know that I will probably be accused of being ageist, but it isn't like that.

"For example I know that a lot of the Island's skateboarders go out after midnight to skate as there is no skate park for them.

"If we set certain dates when roads were closed and we had organised events for them, that could remedy the problem.

"We also want the number of councillors on the Island to be cut from 48 to 24, as we believe that we are over-represented."

Apart from being an all-round campaigner, Phil's main profession is as an author of personal development books. He has had eight published but his book You Can't Always Get What You Want is his most popular .

"The young people on the Island consider it to be a brain-drain and have the attitude "how soon can I leave". My son, Luke, was the same. He has just started a degree at Bournemouth University and I don't expect that he will ever return to the Island. As for me, I often think about moving back to Surrey. Its proximity to London and Brighton is a bonus, yet I still love the beauty of the Isle of Wight.

"The mentality of Islanders is hard to bear. If you contemplate leaving the Island it is considered treachery.

"For the time being, I think that fixed-link Phil will be on the Island for the foreseeable future."