Agenda - Manx Radio

Just over a month ago Perspective heard from Robert Morrey who explained his plan to build an anaerobic digestor and energy hub at Andreas. Just over a week ago a group of farmers and government officials visited Scotland to see how AD plants work. I joined them as an independent observer and this week's Agenda gives the farmers' view on how energy crops could work for Manx agriculture. Some positive news for farmers and more stable energy bills …. but will government back it?

In Tynwald last week Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse had two motions on the Order Paper. The first related to DoI's refusal to allow the outgoing airport director to attend a hearing of the Economic Review Committee and the second related to a report by the Select Committee on the Regulation of the Steam Packet Company. The Steam Packet is of course wholly owned by the Isle of Man Government but is kept at arm's length from government - except of course for when political pressure builds and the arm becomes considerably shorter.

Paul Craine has been researching our population for well over 40 years and he's concerned about the Manx birth rate falling to it's lowest since 1920. Births in the Isle of Man are now 43.9% lower than in 2010 with just 574 babies born last year. What's causing this trend and how concerned should we be about it? Paul Craine joins me on this evening's Agenda at 5.30pm on Manx Radio to consider these weighty issues. Demographer Paul Morland outlines the extent of the global decline in births and concludes that: “…governments can have no higher priority than addressing the demographic question”. He advocates “…the making of a pro-natal (pro-birth) culture” and suggests that this is “a role for all of us”. Reckon I'm getting too old for that sort of thing.

The Department for Enterprise is progressing a new Employment (Amendment) Bill which will feature new rights for rest breaks, neonatal care leave and carer's leave with the Bill being framed round feedback from a series of public consultations held in 2024. The Department will also be undertaking further research on a number of other areas including statutory annual leave provision, the maximum awards available at the Employment and Equality Tribunal, and reforms to the licensing of Employment Agencies and Businesses.We'll also hear about the local economy strategy. Yes they're busy bees at the DfE!

Retired law lecturer Peter Murcott is concerned about Michelle Haywood's private member's Bill which provides for Safe Access Zones and Protected Public Places. He believes that if enacted this law would lead to a significant erosion of free speech and could criminalise people merely for living in their own homes. If his interpretation of the Bill is correct than this should be a concern for us all, but is he right? He presents his case to Agenda this evening at 5.30pm on Manx Radio with me Phil Gawne. Is it reasonable to expect to be able to go about your business without being harangued by a vociferous campaigner? I guess the answer is yes but who decides what's reasonable and is this Bill pushing us down the slippery slope to an authoritarian regime?

Manx Care's Mandate was supposed to be on Tynwald's Agenda last week but despite the Minister's best endeavours the debate didn't happen. The Minister remains eager to hear the views of politicians, patients and medical professionals so she's in for a treat on this episode of Agenda. The Isle of Man Medical Society had plenty to say about the Mandate and Drs Crerand and Prakash explain why. This is the second time in as many months I've interviewed the Drs - maybe I need to eat more apples?

It's been a few weeks now since we talked about LegCo but Onchan MHK Julie Edge has prompted Agenda back to the topic as she has a motion in Tynwald calling for the role of Members of the Legislative Council and the method of their election to be reformed. So what is this all about and what's provoked Ms Edge to seek such reforms? Has Julie Edge been playing politics with her questions on cancer care and is she right to suggest UK government health reforms should see an end to Manx Care being independent from the Health Department?

The Local Government Amendment Bill appeared to be a largely uncontroversial piece of legislation providing updates and improvements to the Acts which allow the Commissioners and Councillors to deliver services to us the Rate payers. Uncontroversial until Lawrie Hooper tried to introduce three new clauses which significantly alter the relationship between central and local government. Local authorities are far from happy but is this a much needed reform to drive forward better local services? Expect fiery brands and pitch forks at dawn.

Tomorrow the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. On Agenda and Perspective we've spoken to 14 of the candidates with the 15th being unavailable for interview. This evening we hear from our final candidate, civil servant, Claire Newall who while new to politics has a good understanding of how the system works. Tomorrow the House of Keys has a big job to do in sifting through the excellent field of candidates. Will they go for comfortable fits or rough diamonds?

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda and Perspective will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians. We hear from social worker Kirstie Morphet. So we've heard from some very informed and experienced candidates - who will be chosen by the Keys next week?

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda and Perspective will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians. We hear from retired engineer Andrew Jones. So we've heard from some very informed and experienced candidates - who will be chosen by the Keys next week?

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. On part 2 of our LegCo special we hear from businessman Mark Cleator. Some very people standing for LegCo so worth a listen just for the skeet!

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda and Perspective will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians. On Agenda this evening we hear from businessman Barry Duncan. There are some very interesting people standing for LegCo so worth a listen just for the skeet!

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda and Perspective will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians. On this LegCo Perspective special we hear from businessmen Ron Berry I hope you're enjoying listening to the people standing for LegCo as much as I'm enjoying interviewing them.

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda and Perspective will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians. On this LegCo Perspective special we hear from businessmen Matt Gough I hope you're enjoying listening to the people standing for LegCo as much as I'm enjoying interviewing them.

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians, voting in Tynwald on policy and finance and playing a significant role in shaping the laws of our Island. We hear this week from businessman Gary Clueit who is hoping to get elected to LegCo at his second attempt. LegCo can have a big impact on your life so it's well worth a listen to tonight's Agenda.

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians, voting in Tynwald on policy and finance and playing a significant role in shaping the laws of our Island. We hear this week from businessman Peter Reid who is hoping to get elected to LegCo at his second attempt. LegCo can have a big impact on your life so it's well worth a listen to tonight's Agenda.

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians, voting in Tynwald on policy and finance and playing a significant role in shaping the laws of our Island. We hear this week from MLC Rob Mercer who is hoping to get elected to LegCo for a second term. LegCo can have a big impact on your life so it's well worth a listen to tonight's Agenda.

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians, voting in Tynwald on policy and finance and playing a significant role in shaping the laws of our Island. We hear this week from former Garff MHK Martyn Perkins who is hoping to get elected to LegCo. LegCo can have a big impact on your life so it's well worth a listen to tonight's show.

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians, voting in Tynwald on policy and finance and playing a significant role in shaping the laws of our Island. We hear this week from dyslexia campaigner Julia Bell who is hoping to grab one of the LegCo seats. LegCo can have a big impact on your life so it's well worth a listen to tonight's Agenda.

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council, one of which will replace Peter Greenhill MLC, who has decided to step down at the end of February when his 5 year term ends. He tells Agenda about his experiences over the past five years and gives some advice to prospective LegCo candidates. If you are hoping to be nominated for one of the LegCo seats please get in touch so we can arrange an interview. Candidate or not though, it's interesting to hear Peter Greenhill's thoughts on the role he's about to leave.

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians, voting in Tynwald on policy and finance and playing a significant role in shaping the laws of our Island. We hear this week from Kerry Sharpe MLC, who is hoping to retain her LegCo seat. LegCo members have a big say on how our island is run so it's important to know who they are!

On the 4th March the House of Keys will choose four people to become members of the Legislative Council. Prior to that vote, Agenda will be speaking with all the candidates so that you can find out more about the people that hope to become national politicians, voting in Tynwald on policy and finance and playing a significant role in shaping the laws of our Island. We hear this week from the longest serving Tynwald Member, Bill Henderson MLC, who is hoping to retain his seat. LegCo members have a big say on how our Island is run so it's important to know who they are!

Agenda 6.1.25 In the final November sitting of Legislative Council members held their second Evidence Stage on the Assisted Dying Bill and MLCs heard from two expert witnesses Bridget Carter and Dr Claud Regnard as well as the Bill's promoter Alex Allinson. Ms Carter works to prevent coercive behaviour towards vulnerable elderly people and Dr Regnard is a life long Palliative Care expert. As the Assisted Dying Bill approaches the end of its consideration by LegCo, Agenda extracts some of the highlights from the evidence session including the advice given by the Attorney General on the Bill.

As an early Christmas present we've got a yuletide topped and tailed Agenda, stuffed with an interview with newly appointed Cabinet Office Minister David Ashford. What does Mr Ashford hope to achieve in his return to Ministerial politics and does his appointment herald the start of a program of delivery of the much trumpted headline grabbing targets which government has been so good at talking about over the past three years. Government appears to be nibbling through the last of the financial leftovers at an alarming rate so can we expect some more ample portions in the year to come? A message of Christmas hope or crackers without a pop?

Some December Tynwald leftovers to dig into on Agenda. We hear from the new and former chairs of the Public Services Commission as Tynwald considered why the Commission hadn't published its annual reports. The Commission is the employer of around four thousand civil servants so it's kind of important that we get to find out what they're up to. We also hear opposing views on Stu Peters' attempt to persuade government to review its Net Zero targets and budgets. Is it just virtue signalling from Tynwald or will we actually see our energy bills reducing? I'd buy a big coat if I were you.

Does prison work? Clearly it protects us from people who've shown a willingness to harm fellow citizens; and it acts as a deterrent to people who might be thinking about committing a crime. It's less successful in rehabilitation of offenders though and Andrew Neilson from the Howard League for Penal Reform believes that in some cases more effective and lower cost alternatives are available. Surely half an hour listening to Agenda would be enough to soften the hardest of criminal hearts?

The Reproductive Rights Bill seeks to bring up to date our somewhat archaic legislation . This private members Bill has been brought forward by Tanya August Philips MLC and addresses matters relating to fertilization, embryology and surrogacy. We've also had some important international tax orders in Tynwald and an Income Tax Bill going through Keys. On Agenda we attempt to explain why these pieces of legislation matter. Encouragingly a Tax Bill in Keys tends to mean more money to pay for essential services and this time we won't be paying?

Getting withdrawal symptoms from last week's bumper Tynwald sitting? Well this evenings Agenda is just the answer. All the Tynwald highlights we couldn't squeeze in to Sunday's Perspective, including education, the post office, a bit more on the NI Fund and a few bonus questions thrown in too. There are certainly some big issues being discussed at the moment by Tynwald members but are they getting any closer to the answers? Spoiler alert - no, not really - but I guess you'd probably worked that out.

You wait around for an environment, food or agriculture strategy and then suddenly three appear all at once. DEFA Minister Clare Barber tells Agenda all about the energy strategy, the food security strategy and the agriculture strategy. There's no new money to help deliver the food security and agriculture strategies which may leave farmers feeling they've heard warm words before, but the Minister puts some convincing arguments that things will get better. The Department suggests just 6% of food consumed in the Island is Manx, is government moooooving quick enough to help the Manx food sector?

The debate that preceded the vote of no confidence into the Chief Minister raised a number of interesting points about the importance of the role. Some MHKs suggested that the policies of government would not change regardless of the person leading the Council of Ministers. Others felt that a change of Chief Minister was needed but seemed somewhat vague on why and indeed what a replacement might do differently. On Agenda this week former Douglas East MHK Chris Robertshaw considers the debate and explains what they should be talking about. Yes - more from Chairman Robertshaw's little Green Book.

We've had some high octane politics over the past few weeks so Agenda takes a look at some of the less headline grabbing, calmer issues going through Keys and LegCo. Bill Henderson tells us about the Public Sector Payments Bill which “tidies up” some outdates legislation particularly relating to members expenses and Alex Allinson reveals what's behind the Treasury (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. From the relatively obscure clause amending the 1928 Allotments Act to making it easier to increase fees its all considered on Agenda. And is the Treasury Minister really trying to pinch our pennies?

There's been so much happening in Manx politics lately and with the vote of confidence in the Chief Minister taking place in the Keys tomorrow we have two interviews from October Tynwald on Agenda this week. One from the Chief Minister which explains his position on health and what he proposes to do about it. We also hear from Joney Faragher on why she resigned at the same time as the former health Minister. Better late than never on Agenda this week. Will the Chief Minister survive tomorrow's vote? Who would you replace him with. Lots to consider.

In what appeared to be a relatively uninspiring Tynwald Order Paper one of the expected highlights was the Treasury Minister's statement. As things turned out, Lawrie Hoopers resignation overshadowed everything else but Alex Allinson's statement explained a lot, both in what he did and didn't say. The temporary rise in the higher rate of income tax is looking more permanent than we'd been led to believe and the pension triple lock is likely to be removed, but there was some good news hinted at in the statement too. No give aways from Treasury but perhaps some jam tomorrow?

Agenda 14.10.24 - parking in Castletown and saving our town centres.You'd wonder what all the fuss is about over closing off a few parking spaces in Castletown but it's seen a couple of former town MHKs breaking cover on the subject. The latest of these is Richard Ronan who led the regeneration work in Castletown during his time as MHK. What was the thinking behind these regeneration schemes, have they worked, is government and Tynwald doing enough to try to bring vibrancy back to our struggling town centres. All this and more on Agenda - assuming I can find somewhere to park of course!

How do we manage waste across the Island, who's responsible for recycling and why do some local authorities pay substantially more for their regional recycling centres than others? Is the current Rates system fair and if not why has Rates reform never been tackled? And while we're discussing reform why do we still have such a disparate range of local authorities from very large to tiny? All these questions and more will be answered on this week's Agenda. Everything you've ever wanted to know about local government … and probably a bit more!

Local Democracy Reporter Emma Draper has been in post for just under two years now so what has she learned about local government in the Isle of Man? What is a local democracy reporter and why do we need one? Why does it take so long to get an answer from government, how does central government interact with local government and why do so few people vote in local elections given the important role played by your Commissioners and Councillors in making your community a great place to live and work. So what has local democracy ever done for us?

There was an interesting flare up in Tynwald over the appointment of two new directors to the government owned Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Some members were incensed by a particular line of questioning from Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas and he was asked to withdraw what were described as disparaging remarks. Is it possible to question candidates' suitability for certain roles in such a public forum, and if it isn't then perhaps Tynwald's role in the process is merely to rubber stamp decisions taken behind closed doors. Agenda considers whether legitimate debate was being stifled or were Chris Thomas' comments beyond the pale.

The assisted dying Bill is due to be read a third time tomorrow in an extra Keys sitting and Agenda asks what's the rush. We also ponder whether Tynwald and government are capable of delivering a bus station in Douglas, why developers need support to build luxury flats in Port Erin and why Tynwald rejected the opportunity to save money by allowing private member's Bills to appear on the government consultation website. If you are struggling to understand government's spending priorities then this week's Agenda may well be able to help - mind you it might not and all.

Rushen MHK Michelle Haywood wants to progressively prevent new generations from being able to purchase tobacco products. Her private member's Bill would in effect see the age at which you can buy tobacco products increase by a year each year until eventually nobody could buy them. With an estimated 25% of the health budget spent treating smoking relate illness this seems like an obvious thing to do. Will the health budget savings outweigh the lost tobacco tax income? Surely helping us lead longer healthier live must be a good thing?

Lawrie Hooper's homework was marked by June Tynwald and he passed with flying colours. The waiting list initiative supported by Tynwald last year appears to have had a significant impact in reducing numbers of people waiting for treatment. Minister Hooper tells us about that initiative and new adoption law changes before moving on to the Carer's Strategy. Julie Edge gave an impassioned speech in support of carers which we'll hear too in this week's Agenda. Good news about waiting lists but does government care about carers?

The 41st Summit of the British-Irish Council took place here just over a week ago with senior politicians focussing on unlocking the economic and social opportunities of renewables across these islands. The Irish Taoiseach was here as was the Scottish Government First Minister but do these summits actually deliver anything meaningful? And has any progress been made to give the Isle of Man a share of the spoils extracted from windfarm licences that would be ours if we were independent?