WILL politicians vote to end inequalities in the electoral system – or have they justified reasons to oppose the changes?
A six-week consultation began on radical proposals to redraw the political map of the island, replacing the current system of one, two and three seat constituencies with 12 constituencies each having two MHKs.
It would mean major changes to existing boundaries to ensure each constituency has a population of about 7,000.
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In the sparsely-populated North, for example, a new giant constituency would be created under the Boundary Review Commission proposals, taking in Michael, Ayre and the parish of Maughold from Garff.
Garff MHK Steve Rodan described the plans for the north as ‘ridiculous’.
He said: ‘This is exactly what I did NOT want to happen.
‘The proposal that the ancient Sheading of Garff disappears entirely is one I simply cannot accept. The absorption of Maughold into a gigantic northern constituency is ridiculous, as is the replacing of these rural voters with a whole chunk of urban Onchan.
‘The whole essentially rural nature of Garff is now changed. Also the Garff local authorities _ Laxey, Lonan and Maughold – who are working closely together as the Garff initiative for sharing local services were quite clear they wanted the same shared representation at parliamentary level, albeit with a second Keys member for the seat.
‘The members representing “The North” are going to need a helicopter to get around. I shall be going to see the Boundary Review Committee to discuss alternative, more acceptable proposals.’
He added: ‘I strongly supported giving everyone the same number of votes by equalisation at 12 x 2 in place of the 1,2,3 undemocratic system. This principle of equality is far more important than striving for equalising the number of voters per constituency, by convoluting such awkward new boundaries.’
Michael MHK Alfred Cannan said he supported the principle of boundary changes but also expressed misgivings about the proposals for the north.
He said: ‘Overall I’m not opposed to the principle of having two MHKs per constituency but as far as the north is concerned, my area of representation, I am concerned about the sheer size of the proposed constituency. Geographically it is big.
‘It will fundamentally alter the level of contact that constituents would have with their MHK. I’m concerned that residents in north Maughold will have almost no contact.’
Mr Cannan said he could see a case for Ramsey, unaltered under the commission’s proposals, to be extended both north and also south to include north Maughold.
He said the proposals could lead to changes in voting patterns and lead to more party politics.
‘Boundary changes could be the start of a new era of politics in the island. It could alter the way in which voters perceive their MHKs and how they vote and lead to a different blend of candidates coming forward,’ he said.
Castletown MHK Richard Ronan said he had been consistently supportive of addressing the imbalance in the current electoral system.
‘My niece in Port St Mary had three times more influence in parliament than my father in Castletown. This is about what’s right and what’s wrong. It is a positive move forward. I would urge voters to keep an eye on their MHKs to see they vote for the right reasons or for personal reasons.’
Howard Quayle is the single MHK for the existing large Middle MHK which extends to Greeba Castle, Eairy Dam, Mount Murray, Port Soderick, Douglas Head and the Baldwin Valley. Under the proposed boundary changes, it would take in the parish of Santon and get an extra MHK.
Mr Quayle said: ‘I obviously support this. Middle has the same number of voters as Douglas West where there are two MHKs.’
But he, too, expressed misgivings about the size of the proposed north constituency which he said was ‘unworkable’. He suggested south and north Maughold be placed into the East constituency and Ramsey be extended to take in Lezayre.
Phil Gawne, one of three Rushen MHKs, said: ‘It is disappointing that the five seats we have in the south will be reduced to four as a result of these proposals.
‘However, Tynwald has agreed to support a fairer system and this does appear to be a fairer system.’
He suggested the South and South West constituencies should be called East and West Rushen respectively. But he said it was too early to say which constituency he would contest if the boundary changes were made in time for the next general election.
Onchan MHK Peter Karran has lived through boundary changes before, having been MHK for the old Middle constituency, part of which was split off to Malew and Santon and South Douglas.
He said: ‘It is fundamentally wrong to go across the road from my constituency in Onchan where you have three votes to Garff where you get one vote.
’But it is sad to see Onchan being split up. It will be very disappointing to lose part of Onchan constituency.’
Mr Karran suggested the boundary changes could have been more radical still with four six-seat constituencies or eight three-seat constituencies. ‘We need to get our national politicians away from local issues of dog dirt and potholes.’
Douglas Council leader David Christian said he was pleased with the proposals for the capital’s parliamentary boundaries. ‘We said there should be equality of voters. We are very pleased for Douglas, there’s been some tinkering of boundaries and what we proposed is what has come out.’