The Isle of Man is proud of its Parliamentary system - and rightly so. The Manx Government has been using basically the same principles and legislative procedures for more than a thousand years with little alteration since the introduction of the Tynwald system by the Vikings in 979AD. Changes may be afoot in the rest of Europe but self-government continues to ensure that Island affairs remain essentially in the hands of Manx people. Nevertheless, although the Island is not part of the United Kingdom it is still a Crown dependency and regarded as one of the British Isles, making Manx people British but not English.
The Queen is the Island's Head of State - as Lord of Mann - and represented here by a Lieutenant Governor who normally serves a five-year term. The present Governor is Air Marshall Ian MacFadyen. He and his wife live in the official residence of Government House, on the outskirts of Douglas. As it is a Crown appointment, the Lieutenant Governor is chosen on the advice of the British Home Secretary with the concurrence of the Manx Government. He usually plays a very active role in Manx public life and a Government House diary is published in the weekly papers.
The Isle of Man is not a member of the European Union but does have a special relationship with the EU that allows free movement of trade between the Island and EU countries. Matters of common concern to the UK and the Isle of Man such as external relations and defence are the responsibility of the UK Home Secretary Jack Straw and the Home Office Minister Lord Bassam of Brighton. The Isle of Man has no voting rights in the English parliament and the Lord Bishop's seat in the House of Lords is a courtesy seat only.
The Isle of Man does not have a written constitution but a general objective aimed at complete self-government and autonomy in its internal affairs. This is based on the Island's ancient National Assembly, the Tynwald, whose original principle declares that 'King, Deemsters, Keys and Folk must meet annually... to give effect to law by hearing it promulgated'. The term Tynwald is derived from the Norse 'Thingvollr' which means Parliament Field. On the the 5th of July every year, the parliamentary body gathers for an open-air sitting on the ancient mound at Tynwald Hill in St Johns for new laws to be read aloud in front of government and the public. The laws are read in Manx and English by the First DEEMSTER (a Manx legal term for 'judge') and members of the public are allowed to present petitions for the redress of grievance. Tynwald Day is also the Manx national holiday and alongside the pageantry and formal ceremony there is a fair field and displays of traditional music and dancing.
The Tynwald Court is the term used to describe the Isle of Man's Parliament, made up of the Legislative Council or Upper House and the House of Keys or Lower House. The President of Tynwald is Sir Charles Kerruish. The Legislative Council is made up of eight members elected by the House of Keys plus the Lord Bishop and the Attorney General. It is chaired by the President of Tynwald and sits weekly from October to June to hear questions and motions tabled and hold informal debates. The assent of the Legislative Council is essential for the passing of any laws and much of its time is spent revising Government bills to make them more workable. In the third week of every month the Council joins forces with the House of Keys to sit as Tynwald Court and debate policy matters, approve legislation and adopt financial motions. The House of Keys is a popularly elected body of 24 members or MHKs (the equivalent of English MPs), traditionally regarded as the 'chiefs' or 'elders' of the Island. Only a handful represent a Party and most members sit as independents.
The island's nationalist party is Mec Vannin, a 60-strong group whose core policy is the attainment of Manx independence. The party was founded in the early 1960s and fields candidates in local and national elections. Unofficial opposition to the Government is provided from within by the 8-member Alliance for Progressive Government or APG, which has been going since 1991. All its members are MHKs and they make a point of putting forward alternative policies and questioning and scrutinising government actions.
The House of Keys Chamber is located in Government Buildings on Prospect Hill in Douglas. The 24 seats are allocated amongst 15 constituencies or Sheadings. The word sheading is thought to refer back to the Norse term for 'a sixth', used when the Island was divided into six districts. Further divisions since then have increased the number of electoral areas to include Ayre, Rushen, Michael, Middle, Garff, Malew and Santon, Glenfaba, Onchan, Ramsey, Castletown, Peel and Douglas North, Douglas South, Douglas East and Douglas West. Elections are held every five years and are open to everyone over 18 who has had their usual place of abode on the Island for the preceding twelve months.
Public bills are normally introduced into the House of Keys by the Legislative Council or a member of the House. Private bills are usually of a local or personal nature and outside bodies must petition the Keys, the Council or the Tynwald Court for leave to introduce these. Draft legislation is read three times in the House then passed onto the Legislative Council for a further three, successively more detailed, readings. If a Bill is amended by Council it is sent back to the House of Keys for consideration. Bills that pass through the voting procedure must be signed by at least five Council members and thirteen MHKs before being submitted to the Lieutenant Governor or the Crown for Royal Assent. In order to become law, an Act of Tynwald must be promulgated (read aloud) within 18 months at the annual open air Tynwald ceremony.
Although the Isle of Man has its own legislation, Manx law is based on the principals of English law and similar in most respects other than taxation and land matters, in which case it's been developed to suit the Island's special circumstances.
Manx lawyers are known as Advocates and they combine the roles of both barristers and solicitors. The two main judges of the High Court are known as Deemsters. The range of concerns dealt with by Manx legislation is generally similar to the UK although our social legislation is a little slow off the mark in some areas. For example, homosexuality only became legal in 1992 and as yet the Island has no equal opportunities legislation which would forbid discrimination on the grounds of race, gender or sexuality.
The Manx Government is based on a ministerial system. The Island's political head is the Chief Minister nominated by Tynwald, who is assisted by nine Departmental Ministers selected from the House of Keys. They are responsible for the Treasury; Education; Home Affairs; Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Health and Social Security; Trade and Industry; Tourism and Leisure; Local Government and the Environment; and Transport. As a body, they form the Council of Ministers which deals with all Government policy matters and has a general supervisory authority over the above Departments. Their main objective is 'to maximise the Island's standard of living whilst safeguarding its environment and quality of life'.
Occasionally Tynwald will appoint a non-statutory committee to investigate matters of national interest by scrutinising, criticising and making recommendations but it is up to the Council of Ministers whether or not the recommendations are implemented.
Local affairs such as rates, rubbish collections and local expenditure are dealt with by small publically elected bodies - similar to English town councils - known as Commissioners, who normally serve 3 year terms beginning on the first of May. But whereas voting in national elections is based around constituencies or sheadings, local affairs are delineated by the Parish system originally devised by the Vikings in the twelfth century to establish ecclesiastical boundaries. The Island has seventeen parishes - Andreas, Arbory, Ballaugh, Braddan, Bride, German, Jurby, Lezayre, Lonan, Malew, Marown, Maughold, Michael, Onchan, Patrick, Rushen and Santon - although by virtue of their larger populations Michael and Onchan are deemed, for local government purposes, as Districts. For this reason Laxey, Port St Mary and Port Erin also have their own District Commissioners while Castletown, Peel and Ramsey have Town Commissioners and Douglas, being the largest of all, has a Corporation, headed by a MAYOR.
Each parish also has a Captain whose ancient role involved providing men to 'watch' the Island 24 hours a day and guard against invasion but is now regarded as more of an honorary title required only to attend the Tynwald ceremony and local meetings.
Acknowledgements: Manx Heritage Foundation