Perspective - Manx Radio

The southern swimming pool has been making a splash in the turbulent Tynwald political waters leaving some political commentators to suggest that the Minister is out of her depth. In contrast the Minister has suggested that some members are floundering in the political whirlpool and the whole pool debate has allowed a range of thorny administrative issues to float to the surface. Diving in with bo...

The economic strategy annual update was debated in Tynwald this week with the Chief Minister painting a very rosy Manx economic picture which seemed to avoid discussion of the pitfalls and obstacles to economic success. This led to criticism from some members that perhaps government wasn’t living in the real world or indeed that the Chief Minister was living on ‘fantasy island.’...

Perspective looks at the forthcoming January Tynwald, Systra's report into Heritage railways and guests MHKs Daphne Caine, Sarah Maltby and Chris Thomas give their initial reaction to the Covid Review.

Tynwald gave Government two modest defeats this week as well as pointing out that Government is missing a number of its own targets. Statistics show that the population is growing by 230 people a year but the Chief Minister is convinced that his government’s flagship target of an extra ten thousand people. The Treasury Minister announced that he will be announcing his tax strategy in Februar...

The Financial Services Authority is a body whose influence we only tend to come across when we’re trying to open a bank account and having to prove in triplicate who we are. The FSA has, though, a significant influence on the financial services sector which generates over a third of our economic output so we probably do need to know a bit more about them. The FSA talks in its recent report o...

Crogga wants to give the Isle of Man Government a multibillion pound Christmas present but needs government to agree a variation to their gas exploration licence. The Chief Minister apparently sacked Chris Thomas for not assisting Crogga so the decision is now in Tim Crookall’s hands. Several Tynwald members and a growing international chorus suggest that extracting more fossil fuels during...

You wait around for twenty years for some renewable energy projects and then suddenly several of them arrive at the same time. Tynwald seems very nervous about accepting private sector support for renewable power generation in the Isle of Man, but perhaps they might be persuaded by a project which gives a significant boost to Manx farmers, ticks all the boxes for carbon reduction targets and provi...

Has the Manx milling wheat sector reached a crisis point? Is government borrowing over a billion pounds now? No say the relevant Ministers. The Treasury Minister is feeling generous by handing out winter and Christmas bonuses and free TV licences for over 75s. Tynwald likes onshore wind farms and agrees that the airport and the sea terminal need tidying up. The DoI Minister announces some tinkerin...

How has the mild mannered generally innocuous Health Services Consultative Committee been drawn in to a heated political debate with the Health Minister? Lawrie Hooper has accused the committee of deliberated falsehood - lying to you and me - and both sides have accused each other of making defamatory statements. Chris Thomas will be calling on Tynwald to annul changes made to the Committee’...

A bit of déjà vu  on Agenda this week as the Bishop’s vote is once more called into question this time by the House of Keys who narrowly voted to allow Lawrie Hooper to introduce a private member’s Bill to remove the vote from the Bishop. Mr Hooper was accused of having malevolent purpose and being distracted by trivial matters when he should be getting on with the d...

A trio of appointments were announced this week by government with MHKs John Wannenburgh and Tim Glover taking over as chairs of Manx Utilities and Office of Fair Trading, subject to Tynwald approval. John is current Chair at the OFT and Rob Callister was Chair at the MUA last year. Rob now takes over as Chair of planning? Did you follow that? Well light and clarity will be delivered on Perspectiv...

Few people can have managed to avoid being affected by the tragic events taking place in Israel and Gaza in recent weeks. The suffering and pain being inflicted is hard to imagine in our peaceful island which hasn’t witnessed war and bloodshed for many decades. We have little power to influence these events but should we not at least consider what’s happening and use our comparitively...

Relationship breakdowns can be very difficult and never more so when played out publicly on the floor of Tynwald and Keys. Once popular and valued CoMin team member Chris Thomas had his political heart broken by the Chief Minister and it could be argued that he’s out for revenge. We listen again to the extraordinary and revelatory session in Keys this week as the former DoI Minister Chris Th...

What does the sale of all Shoprite stores mean for us here on the Isle of Man?  Beth Espey looks back at how the news was announced, and considers the impact on Manx producers.

Following Chris Thomas’s sacking as Infrastructure Minister, his subsequent resignation as Chair of the Housing and Communities Board and a three month hiatus in housing leadership, David Ashford has emerged as the new housing head. So can he deliver on the work already undertaken on housing? MHKs Chris Thomas and David Ashford discuss the pitfalls and opportunities for meaningful improvemen...

Government has announced a multimillion give away to developers in an attempt to get brownfield sites developed but will these incentives work? At a time when many businesses in the food and hospitality sector are closing is there a need for some of those millions to be spent helping small and medium sized businesses to keep a float? And what message does mothballing the work permit send to Manx w...

The government has set clear targets to decarbonise the Manx economy over the coming decades. Solar power and onshore and offshore wind look like the best available renewable energy generation prospects but are there alternatives? The Chief Minister doesn’t seem convinced but Graham Fox-Hulme tells us that the answer lies beneath our feet and John Sheppard wants draconian measures introduced...

Cabinet Office Minister Kate Lord-Brennan is leading on government’s building and development reform program and is looking to change the Isle of Man’s Strategic Plan. This document pretty much governs how all future development can proceed, identifying areas of housing need and setting policies which dictate what development can take place in the countryside, how biodiversity will be...

There are times in politics when you think you’d be happy if the earth would just swallow you up and I’m sure Chief Minister Alf Cannan might have thought that at the July sitting of Tynwald. Back now from a refreshing summer break he’s raring to go and keen to deliver on his government’s much discussed plans and strategies. Two years in though does he have any successes to...

With all the exam results out now how does Education Minister Julie Edge MHK think Manx students have done? Relations between teachers and the Department have been shakey at best over the past few years. Are there signs of improvement now? And what’s the latest on the QE2 drag queen affair? Were you inspired by your teachers? Is there too much bureaucracy in education these days? So much to...

Tim Cullen MBE is an Associate Fellow of the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and was, until recently, Director of the Oxford Programme on Negotiation. Tim is best known for his role as the first Executive Director of the Small Countries Financial Management Centre, which he helped establish with the support of the Isle of Man government, the World Bank, and the Commonwealth Secreta...

Ever pondered on the future of Manx politics? What do our young people think about politics. Well, Junior Tynwald is of the opinion that the transport and communication infrastructure of the Island does not meet the population’s needs.’ And also Junior Tynwald is of the opinion that school meals should be provided to more of the student population including, if possible, to all primary...

What was government dragging its feet about with the significant delay in releasing documents on the previous administration’s handling of Covid. Was Dr Ranson’s presentation ‘toned down’ or just edited to focus on the core message. Was an hour long enough for Council of Ministers to set aside for consideration of such a weighty issue of how to deal with an unprecedented pa...

Each year, usually on the Monday before the July sitting of Tynwald in Douglas, representatives of the Island's Secondary schools are invited to try being Members of Tynwald for a morning. Manx Radio recorded this year’s sitting and on Perspective this week you can hear twelve of the questions asked at a very entertaining and interesting Tynwald sitting. Junior Tynwald certainly seems to...

There were loads of big political announcements in July Tynwald. A review of the Isle of Man’s Heritage Railways ends in just over a week’s time. Should you be concerned over government’s motivation for bringing the review forward? Are we finally going to get a wind farm in the Manx hills? Would this be a big environmental step forward or just a load of unnecessary green washing?...