There have been numerous attempts at reforming the Legislative Council over the years – and all have ended in inglorious failure.
Now Liberal Vannin leader Peter Karran is giving this perennial thorny conundrum of Manx politics another go.
He will be seeking leave at next week’s House of Keys sitting to introduce a private members’ bill that aims to bring about the reforms that he believes the public demand.
The most recent attempt to make MLCs directly elected ended in disarray, amid conflict over proposed boundary changes.
David Callister’s bill had proposed the island is divided into eight constituencies each returning three MHKs and one MLC.
Mr Karran’s proposals are altogether simpler – but not necessarily any more workable.
His bill requires that members of LegCo are popularly elected on an all-island basis after 2018.
Another provision will prevent members of LegCo being made ministers or even members of government departments.
Other provisions will change eligibility criteria for election to LegCo and to amend the pay and conditions of employment of MLCs.
Mr Karran said: ‘This needs to be kept on the agenda. The way LegCo is elected is unsustainable.
‘You have to accept the vast majority of the general public believe the upper house should be directly elected by the people. There is only one way to do this – to elect them on an all-island basis at a different time to the general election.’
Mr Karran claimed MLCs were appointed to departments to ensure they ‘toed the government line’.
His bill holds back from preventing sitting MHKs standing for election to the upper house – but he suggested there will be ‘glut of senior politicians’ who may do just that at the next LegCo election.
Mr Karran said that LegCo’s important role was that of revising chamber and it should not be able to out-vote the lower house.
