Three candidates are in the race to become the Manx government’s next Chief Minister.
LibVan leader Kate Beecroft (Douglas South), Alfred Cannan (Michael) and Middle MHK Howard Quayle have put themselves forward.
Members of Tynwald are due to elect him or her tomorrow (Tuesday).
The Examiner visited Strand Street to find out who residents would like to see succeed Allan Bell to become our next political leader.
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JOOLES MORRISON, 41, PEEL:
‘I reckon Howard Quayle, I like what he stands for and I know he’s a really nice person.
‘He comes across as a people person as well, a strong character and a good leader, and I think that’s we need. I think he should be focusing on recruitment and employment.
‘I’m quite happy with the new MHKS, I think they will keep us ticking over.
‘As long as they’re quite blunt, truthful and consistent, I think they should be fine.’
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STEPHEN MURPHY, 41, CASTLETOWN:
‘I read through their manifestos and they’re all saying the right type of thing.
‘To be honest with you, I’m not sure who should be Chief Minister, maybe I haven’t followed it enough.
‘I think Cannan would probably be the top choice. I would have probably liked to see Skelly or Watterson stand for the role.
‘I think whoever gets in should be focusing on the economy post-Brexit and growing the other sectors within the island.
‘Egaming is obviously storming ahead but I think there are other areas we need to look at.
They need to get rid of the deficit and make sure they don’t budget beyond their means.
‘I’m happy with the news MHKs, there’s been some good changes and I voted for one of the new ones that was voted in.
‘I think there was some change needed and we needed some new blood in there.’
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CHRIS STEELE, 48, LAXEY:
‘I would probably say Howard Quayle, there’s just something about him. He cares, whereas Kate seems to be a bit of an argument waiting to happen, and you don’t really hear too much about Alf, to be honest.
‘I think the new Chief Minister should focus on normal people, working people, the state of the economy, and not putting everything in one basket in the Isle of Man.
‘They’ve always done finance and tourism and that has all finished and now it’s gone onto eGaming. They’ve always got all their eggs in one basket all the time, they need to diversify.
‘Time will tell with the new MHKs, it’s nice to have a change and it’s nice to have some people who initially appear more concerned than the last lot.’
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TIA WRIGHT, 18, UNION MILLS:
‘I think probably Howard Quayle because he does seem like a good candidate, so we’ll where he goes.
‘Whoever gets in should be focusing on the prom, it’s really bad when you’re driving and I think there needs to be more nightclubs because they’re just terrible over here. There needs to be something for the younger generation.
‘I think if politicians helped the younger generation then younger people would be more likely to vote.’
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COLIN HARWOOD: 62, DOUGLAS:
‘I think Kate Beecroft would make a good Chief Minister because she asks questions. Right or wrong, questions must be asked. If things are queried and brought to attention it can be reviewed and looked at - we need somebody that queries things.
‘I think she would also be a very good ambassador for the Isle of Man, she’s well in with the Isle of Man’s people and community and she thinks of the people.
‘I reckon she would do a very good job of being the new Chief Minister and she would be a good leader, I think she would be the one that would take the island forward.
‘The Chief Minister needs to be on the ball with Brexit, a good communicator, good negotiator, and they also have to be strong because the Isle of Man has to strong.
‘The island has to be strong in the next year or two and not be influenced too much by Great Britain and how they do their laws. We have our own laws and we must keep our established laws and review them.
‘When Article 50 is finally completed and we have to role back 40 years reviewing will have to be done on laws that have been introduced via the former UK, some will have to be scrapped and rewritten and we need a strong government to be able to push this through and negotiate.
‘We need to open free trade when we want. We have free choice now and we should start to lead the way.’
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SIMON CLUCAS, 59, LONAN:
‘I don’t know who I’d like to see as Chief Minister, I’m not particularly swayed to any of the three candidates.
‘The problem is we’re left with a Keys with people without much experience, even the people with the most experience only have five years so there’s no obvious choice.
‘I don’t particularly have a preference for any of them. Maybe if some of the longer serving members got in then they might haven been a candidate for Chief Minister, but a lot of them have baggage as well.
‘Whoever does get in should be focusing on the economy mainly because we’re going to have a tough time. EGaming is strong at the minute but if that changed it wouldn’t be good, we need some other alternatives.’