Agenda - Manx Radio

The Reproductive Rights Bill seeks to bring up to date our somewhat archaic legislation . This private members Bill has been brought forward by Tanya August Philips MLC and addresses matters relating to fertilization, embryology and surrogacy. We’ve also had some important international tax orders in Tynwald and an Income Tax Bill going through Keys. On Agenda we attempt to explain why these piece...

Getting withdrawal symptoms from last week’s bumper Tynwald sitting? Well this evenings Agenda is just the answer. All the Tynwald highlights we couldn’t squeeze in to Sunday’s Perspective, including education, the post office, a bit more on the NI Fund and a few bonus questions thrown in too. There are certainly some big issues being discussed at the moment by Tynwald members but are they getting...

You wait around for an environment, food or agriculture strategy and then suddenly three appear all at once. DEFA Minister Clare Barber tells Agenda all about the energy strategy, the food security strategy and the agriculture strategy. There's no new money to help deliver the food security and agriculture strategies which may leave farmers feeling they’ve heard warm words before, but the Minister...

The debate that preceded the vote of no confidence into the Chief Minister raised a number of interesting points about the importance of the role. Some MHKs suggested that the policies of government would not change regardless of the person leading the Council of Ministers. Others felt that a change of Chief Minister was needed but seemed somewhat vague on why and indeed what a replacement might d...

We’ve had some high octane politics over the past few weeks so Agenda takes a look at some of the less headline grabbing, calmer issues going through Keys and LegCo. Bill Henderson tells us about the Public Sector Payments Bill which “tidies up” some outdates legislation particularly relating to members expenses and Alex Allinson reveals what’s behind the Treasury (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill....

There’s been so much happening in Manx politics lately and with the vote of confidence in the Chief Minister taking place in the Keys tomorrow we have two interviews from October Tynwald on Agenda this week. One from the Chief Minister which explains his position on health and what he proposes to do about it. We also hear from Joney Faragher on why she resigned at the same time as the former healt...

In what appeared to be a relatively uninspiring Tynwald Order Paper one of the expected highlights was the Treasury Minister’s statement. As things turned out, Lawrie Hoopers resignation overshadowed everything else but Alex Allinson’s statement explained a lot, both in what he did and didn’t say. The temporary rise in the higher rate of income tax is looking more permanent than we’d been led to b...

Agenda 14.10.24 - parking in Castletown and saving our town centres. You’d wonder what all the fuss is about over closing off a few parking spaces in Castletown but it’s seen a couple of former town MHKs breaking cover on the subject. The latest of these is Richard Ronan who led the regeneration work in Castletown during his time as MHK. What was the thinking behind these regeneration schemes, hav...

How do we manage waste across the Island, who’s responsible for recycling and why do some local authorities pay substantially more for their regional recycling centres than others? Is the current Rates system fair and if not why has Rates reform never been tackled? And while we’re discussing reform why do we still have such a disparate range of local authorities from very large to tiny? All these...

Local Democracy Reporter Emma Draper has been in post for just under two years now so what has she learned about local government in the Isle of Man? What is a local democracy reporter and why do we need one? Why does it take so long to get an answer from government, how does central government interact with local government and why do so few people vote in local elections given the important role...

There was an interesting flare up in Tynwald over the appointment of two new directors  to the government owned Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Some members were incensed by a particular line of questioning from Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas and he was asked to withdraw what were described as disparaging remarks. Is it possible to question candidates’ suitability for certain roles in suc...

The assisted dying Bill is due to be read a third time tomorrow in an extra Keys sitting and Agenda asks what’s the rush. We also ponder whether Tynwald and government are capable of delivering a bus station in Douglas, why developers need support to build luxury flats in Port Erin and why Tynwald rejected the opportunity to save money by allowing private member’s Bills to appear on the gover...

Rushen MHK Michelle Haywood wants to progressively prevent new generations from being able to purchase tobacco products. Her private member’s Bill would in effect see the age at which you can buy tobacco products increase by a year each year until eventually nobody could buy them. With an estimated 25% of the health budget spent treating smoking relate illness this seems like an obvious thing to d...

Lawrie Hooper’s homework was marked by June Tynwald and he passed with flying colours. The waiting list initiative supported by Tynwald last year appears to have had a significant impact in reducing numbers of people waiting for treatment. Minister Hooper tells us about that initiative and new adoption law changes before moving on to the Carer’s Strategy. Julie Edge gave an impassioned speech in s...

The 41st Summit of the British-Irish Council took place here just over a week ago with senior politicians focussing on unlocking the economic and social opportunities of renewables across these islands. The Irish Taoiseach was here as was the Scottish Government First Minister but do these summits actually deliver anything meaningful? And has any progress been made to give the Isle of Man a s...

If we had a house for every report, review, investigation, and new policy and recommendation then we probably wouldn’t have a housing crisis. So why does Rob Callister want to set up another committee investigation on housing? Should public sector housing be more accessible for people on low incomes and if so how do we pay for the new houses required to satisfy demand? Surely it’s time for more ob...

The Manx Development Corporation has its supporters and critics but what is it for and how was it formed? It aims to be a catalyst for the positive transformation of the Island’s urban landscape for the benefit of all Manx Citizens and has a vision to create an urban landscape which will be perceived as vibrant, safe, of high design quality and environmentally efficient. So how is that working? We...

Long serving political figure Eddie Lowey passed away recently and on Agenda long term friend and occasional political ally Peter Karran pays tribute to a towering Manx statesman. Mr Lowey was first elected to the House of Keys in the old Rushen constituency. He went on to serve in many position in both government and Tynwald stepping down from Legislative Council about ten years ago. But it was h...

The Island’s first set of Biodiversity Action Plans mark a significant step in the Island’s commitment to nature conservation. Agenda asks the experts what are they and why do they matter? There certainly seems to be a greater focus on protecting the Island’s biodiversity but will these plans make a difference? Is there any budget to help deliver the plans? We live in a beautiful part of the world...

More from the new political alliance on this week’s Agenda. Julie Edge MHK gives her warts and all assessment of government and what needs to change. So what did she do as Minister to solve these problems? Is this just sour grapes on the recently replaced education Minister? Ms Edge certainly has some interesting thoughts and ideas for the future which she shares with you on Agenda. Will the...

In Tynwald last week Onchan MHK Rob Callister asked his colleagues to reaffirm a 2017 Tynwald decision relating to the role LegCo members should fulfil and in particular that they should not be a member of more than one government department. The government website tells us that one MLC is a member of two departments and since last month’s reshuffle there may be two, but does any of this rea...

John Sheppard is a Sustainability Consultant and Technical director of Wren Sustainable Limited. He believes that government initiatives to help households become more sustainable are “a joke” and he tells us why on Agenda. While government has legislation requiring it to deliver on carbon reduction targets, it seems that legislation is limited on requiring government agencies to help...

On Agenda last week Tynwald Youth Select Committee members Zara Molnova, Aidan Clarke and Alex Cowley told us about the work of their Committee. This week these sixth form students talk about their political aspirations and run rings round me in a discussion about the perils and opportunities presented by Artificial Intelligence. As someone who’s political thinking inhabits the margins of th...

Very occasionally when conducting interviews Phil Gawne is particularly impressed by the refreshing honestly and clarity of my guests. The Youth Select Committee was established by Tynwald to give a voice to students and Castle Rushen High School students Zara Molnova and Aidan Clarke, and Chair of the Select Committee Alex Cowley from St Ninians High School join Phil Gawne on Agenda. In the first...

An Agenda of two halves this week with Paul Craine MLC assessing the latest population figures and MLC and Children’s Champion Kerry Sharp assessing the recently announced Ballakermeen toilet policy and how children’s rights have changed over the decades. Government has set its sights on growing the economically active population and the latest figures seem to suggest they are beginnin...