Tynwald Annual Report Parliamentary year 2016/2017 We hope you will find this report useful. If you would like to comment on any aspect of it, please contact: The Clerk of Tynwald Office of the Clerk of Tynwald Legislative Buildings Finch Road Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PW Get in touch Twitter : @tynwaldinfo Telephone: +44 (0)1624 685500 Email: [email protected] An electronic copy of this report can be found at: www.tynwald.org.im © Office of the Clerk of Tynwald Copyright 2017 The text of this document may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading or derogatory context. The material must be acknowledged as copyright of the Office of the Clerk of Tynwald and the title of the document specified. PP 2017/0145 2 Tynwald Annual Report 2016/2017 Contents Foreword by the Presiding Officers 4 1867 Celebrations 6 Changes in Political Membership 8 The Work of the Legislature 10 Tynwald Day 18 Interparliamentary Engagement 26 Education and Outreach 34 The Clerk of Tynwald’s Office 42 Appendix 48 3 PRESIDENT OF TYNWALD The Hon Stephen Charles Rodan BSc (Hons) MRPharmS MLC SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF KEYS The Hon Juan Paul Watterson BA FCA CMgr FCMI SHK foreword 4 Tynwald Annual Report 2016/2017 Welcome to the Tynwald Annual Report 2016/7 2016 saw the 150th anniversary of the House of Keys Elections Act 1866. In 2017 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the first elections which took place under that Act, with polling taking place in the first week of April 1867. The old story of the advance of democracy was given a new twist as we celebrated not only with a return visit to former premises in Castletown, but with musical entertainment in the Tynwald Chamber itself, something which would scarcely have been contemplated when the Keys moved to Douglas in the 1880s. In 1979 the Island celebrated the Millennium of Tynwald. Since then we have been accustomed to saying that the Tynwald Ceremony is about a thousand years old, having been described in an account written in 1417 as the “constitution of old time”. This year, as we celebrated the 600th anniversary of that text, we learned from Harvard academic Mr Joe Wolf that the tradition of assembling at St John’s could be 500 years older than we had previously thought. As for the present, 2016/17 has been a year of renewal on many fronts. We reported a year ago that the Keys election of September 2016 was the first under new constituency boundaries. The balance of youth and experience is vastly different from that in the previous House. Of the 24 Members elected, 12 entered the Keys for the first time and a further three had first been elected in bye-elections in 2015. The two MHKs with the longest continuous service were first elected in 2006. The election in 2016 of a record five women to the Keys was followed in May by another “first” with the election to the Legislative Council of Jane Poole-Wilson, the first woman to be so elected without having first served as an MHK. June saw the election of a first all-female Select Committee. We were also delighted in November 2016 to host for the first time a “Women’s Institute Tynwald”, made up of W.I. Members of branches on the Island. A year of renewal within the membership has also been a year of re-imagining our external profile. International co-operation is now a commonplace; visitors from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly have seen – and have been seen at – all manner of public proceedings, from the election of the Speaker in September to the Tynwald Ceremony in July. Off-Island travel has shown practical benefits, building members’ own capacity through study of parliamentary practice at home and abroad, and helping other jurisdictions through election monitoring and capacity-building. And what of the future? It is still too early to say how the Isle of Man will be affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, although it is clear that significant legislative change will be needed in the Island as in the UK. Tynwald is ready for any challenge arising from Brexit or from the Isle of Man Government’s own domestic agenda. Meanwhile at the time of writing a Select Committee on the functioning of Tynwald itself is working through various recommendations made by Lord Lisvane following debates in June and July. 5 Tynwald Annual Report 2016/2017 1867 Celebrations In 2017 the Isle of Man marked the 150th anniversary of the first popular election to the House of Keys, previously a self-appointed body. A number of events took place to celebrate this anniversary in Manx political history. Special Sitting in Castletown Symposium On 14th March 2017 the House of Keys held a special On Saturday 1st April Legislative Buildings opened sitting in the Old House of Keys in Castletown to mark its doors to host a one day symposium with the 150th anniversary of the first popular elections. presentations from invited guest speakers. Tynwald The sitting was attended by previous Speakers Noel and University College Isle of Man worked together Cringle OBE and Steve Rodan. to create a free public event examining the social and economic context of Manx democratic reform After a formal in the 18th and 19th centuries and the Island’s welcome by the legislative and constitutional history. Entitled Speaker, ‘House of Keys: Power, Parliament and the People’ historian Dr the day brought together eminent Manx history Kit Gawne gave experts Dr Kit Gawne, Dr Robert Fyson, Dr Mike evidence on the Hoy MBE, Mike J Southall MBE, William Cain CBE introduction of TH and Professor Peter Edge to share their a popularly perspectives on the Island’s past and present. elected House of Keys in 1867. Dr Kit Gawne The Chief Minister moved 'that this House notes the 150th Anniversary of the introduction of direct elections for the House of Keys; notes the social and economic progress which has flowed from the introduction and extension of democratic elections in the Isle of Man; and welcomes the enhanced role for Tynwald and its branches which this reform brought about'. The motion was seconded by the Deputy Speaker, Chris Robertshaw MHK and was duly carried. The sitting concluded with a statement and thanks by the Speaker. Guest speakers with the President of Tynwald and the Speaker of the House of Keys The moderator for the event was Dr Catriona Mackie. Dr Mackie is a Lecturer in History at University College Isle of Man and is Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) History & Heritage. University College Isle of Man students filmed the talks and these are available online at: http://www.tynwald.org.im/education/ history/1867/ The current House of Keys Members outside the Old House of Keys in Castletown 6 Tynwald Annual Report 2016/2017 Commissioned stamp and coin set As part of the celebrations of democracy, the Isle of Man Treasury was commissioned to produce a 50 pence coin that would be presented to all Island school children. The coin design is taken from a famous print published in the Illustrated London News in 1867 showing the crowds waiting to hear the election results outside the Old Courthouse on Atholl Street. Members of the House of Keys visited every school on the Island to talk to pupils and present the anniversary coin packs. The coin presented to students was packaged in a commemorative presentation pack with one of the four bespoke stamps provided by Isle of Man Stamps and Coins. The first class stamp selected is one of four panoramic stamps released by Isle of Man Post Office in 2017 that illustrate the journey to popular elections in the House of Keys. MHKs shared the story of democratic reform, and students were introduced to some of the key issues and figures of the time, including Governor Henry Loch, reformer James Brown, and Speaker John Senhouse Goldie-Taubman. The Hon. Juan Watterson, Speaker of the House of Keys, said: “Democracy, the right to vote, has only existed for 150 years out of Tynwald’s 1000 year existence. It was hard won. People have petitioned, fought, been put in prison and even died for the right to vote. In the Isle of Man this year we are celebrating 150 years since the first public elections to the House of Keys.” Pictured The Hon. Juan Watterson at Rushen school Tynwald Concert: a Celebration of Democracy Manx democracy was celebrated in musical form with a Tynwald Concert entitled “A celebration of democracy”. The event was devised by historian, broadcaster and author, Charles Guard on behalf of Isle of Architecture. Member’s seats, the public gallery and the press benches in the Tynwald Chamber were packed full to listen to music performed by Caarjyn Cooidjagh, Greg Joughin and Jonathan King. Charles was an excellent host for the event, providing a potted history of the building, re-enactments of extracts from speeches and debates, and personal anecdotes. Speaking before the event, Charles Guard said: ‘We couldn’t have a celebration of the Island’s built environment without including Tynwald. The iconic ‘wedding cake’ building is as much part of Douglas as the Tower of Refuge, and is in daily use as the centre of our government. I hope this concert combines the history of the building with the history of 150 years of Manx democracy, in a light hearted, entertaining way with wide appeal.’ Pictured participants in the Tynwald Concert 7 8 Tynwald Day, 1900.