First Tynwald session deemed 'very positive' by new crop of MHKs

10 of 15 new MHKs make their maiden speech in first Tynwald sitting

Last month, the Manx public went to the polls to have their say on who should be in charge of the country for the next five years.

At the end of election night, 15* new MHKs were given the seal of approval by voters, and four constituencies gained two completely new members.

(*Kirrie Jenkins, Stephen Broad, Peter Shimmin, Andy Saunders, Damien Ciappelli, Richard Henthorn, Vicki Hewison, Katryna Baptist, Daniel Davison, James Cochrane, Rachel Glover, Juan McGuinness, Robert Cowell, Michael Crowe and Mark Kemp.)

Since then, they have been sworn in, elected a new chief minister - who has selected his Council of Ministers - and done a lot of 'how to be an MHK' training.

And this week, they gathered in the High Court of Tynwald for their first sitting as an entire parliament alongside their legislative council colleagues.

TYNWALD RECONVENES

It was a short sitting, all things considered.

Just three questions were on the order paper, all from Douglas North MHK and now-Speaker of the House of Keys David Ashford.

They were followed up by a motion from the Ard-Shirveishagh Chris Thomas, tabled before he took up the top job.

It called on the Council of Ministers to produce a document by the end of November outlining the 'current challenges and opportunities that face the Island' and, vitally, how the new administration intends to tackle them.

As part of the discussions around the motion, several new faces - and many who survived election night - took to their feet to make their opinions known.

Indeed, of the 15 new MHKs, 10 made their maiden speeches in the court.

Speaking to Manx Radio after the debate, long-time member Mr Ashford praised his new colleagues, saying witnessing the number of those who did so was 'wonderful'.

You can hear more from him HERE.

CONTRIBUTIONS

Listening in to the debate, you could be forgiven for thinking members were still on the campaign trail, with many reiterating what they believe are the main issues that need tackling during this administration.

Of all the gathered members of Tynwald, 23 made contributions to yesterday's (20 October) debate, including the mover of the motion, Mr Thomas.

Returning members Rob Callister (Onchan), Claire Christian (Douglas South/DHSC), Gary Clueit (MLC), Tanya August-Phillips (MLC), David Ashford (Douglas North/Speaker), Jane Poole-Wilson (Middle/DHA), Joney Faragher (Douglas East), Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew/DOI), Sarah Maltby (Douglas South/DESC), Paul Craine (MLC), Dawn Kinnish (MLC) and Diane Kelsey (MLC) echoed fairly similar sentiments.

Largely, that communication needed to be different this time around, and that vitally, this new 'Government Programme' had to differ from the model of 'Island Plans' seen in recent years.

The crux of the argument being that clear priorities need to be highlighted from the outset, focused on, and dealt with successfully, rather than having a 'letter to Father Christmas' of 'aspirations detached from capacity, funding legislation and delivery', as the chief minister put it:

New members Juan McGuinness (Ramsey), Mark Kemp (Rushen), Robert Cowell (Ramsey/Enterprise), Andy Saunders (Douglas East), Vicki Hewison (Garff), Stephen Broad (Ayre and Michael), Rachel Glover (Onchan), Katryna Baptist (Glenfaba and Peel), Daniel Davison (Glenfaba and Peel) and Damien Ciappelli (Douglas North) all made contributions.

They all echoed what they'd heard on the doorstep and appeared to be sending a clear message to their constituents of: "We're going to enact change."

VERDICTS

Manx Radio's Political Correspondent Phil Gawne spoke to three of the newly elected MHKs who took to their feet to get a sense of what the first day of Tynwald was like for them.

Douglas North's Damien Ciappelli said the new parliament has 'set the stage' for the next five years, branding the day's events 'very positive':

Glenfaba and Peel member Katryna Baptist had a plea for her fellow members to 'not forget who we serve' and 'continue the dialogue' with constituents as the years go on:

Her constituency colleague, Daniel Davison, told Phil the new government needs to commit to transparency and good communication with the public:

KEYS

For now, it's a waiting game to see when the 'Government Programme' is published, and what the new administration deems the top priorities for the next half decade.

We could take a guess, but with so many different topics mentioned across hustings and debate panels in the run up to the election, we'll have to wait and see which make the cut.

Both the House of Keys and the Legislative Council will reconvene again on 3 November, whilst the next Tynwald sitting is the 17 November.