Cannan’s Surprise as MHKs Block Island Plan Debate

Chief Minister Alf Cannan has said the Island Plan will return to Tynwald ‘as appropriate’ after MHKs blocked a bid to have it moved earlier today.

Eight MHKs proved enough to prevent the plan being moved as their votes prevented Tynwald from being able to suspend standing orders to allow it to be taken.

The plan is now likely to return to February’s Tynwald when, unlike today, it won’t be subject to a vote allowing it to be moved.

Tonight Mr Cannan has said: ‘It is surprising that eight members of the House of Keys have chosen not to support the suspension of standing orders to allow the Island Plan be debated today, but I accept the overriding message that they felt they did not have enough time to read the plan in the five days since publication. Whilst the Speaker said it was not an emergency, Council of Ministers felt it was of sufficient importance to seek the suspension of standing orders to allow for debate in line with our commitments to Tynwald. 

‘We will now bring the plan back to Tynwald as appropriate, but in the meantime we will get on with the work that this plan seeks to address.  The public expect Government to deliver and I am keen that this administration gets on with tackling the critical issues of the day.’

Speaker

As Mr Cannan sought to move to suspend standing orders. Speaker Juan Watterson rose to oppose the suspension and to criticise the gov for seeking to move the plan, which was only published late last week.

Mr Watterson said: ‘I would like to start with a positive and thank the Council of Ministers for engaging with members with a workshop that I was unfortunately unable to attend and with further engagement, the public.

So it is a shame that this plan has fallen at the last hurdles, I sense a real ambition in this Council of Ministers which is really not reflected in the plan. During the last two years, we have had to accept that things have had to happen quickly, as government acted swiftly to protect our island through Covid. I just want to put the marker down by voting against this suspension that I am worried that rushed should not become to norm, especially when setting out this administration’s vision for the next five years.

‘I ask Council of Ministers to consider that the supplementary order paper as issued on Friday that the public have had very little time with it, never mind members. I ask those members who were on the backbenchers in the previous administration and railed against making decisions in a rush to remember that and what it did for their confidence in government and for public confidence in government. So that’s why I’m voting against, this is not an emergency and I just ask members to consider it in those terms.’

Ultimate the government did win the vote, but without sufficient votes the bid to suspend standing orders failed.

Confrontational

Meanwhile, just before hitting send, we noticed that Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Tim Glover had tweeted the below, suggesting one minister had been ‘confrontational’ with MHKs when discussing the plan with members.