CHIEF Minister Allan Bell says he is hopeful that the foundations can be laid for a new and better understanding between the Manx and UK governments.
He was speaking following a visit to London where, together with Chief Secretary Will Greenhow and Director of External Relations Della Fletcher, he held talks with Lord McNally, Minister of State for Justice, the new Lord Mayor of London Alderman David Wootton and Cities of London and Westminster Conservative MP Mark Field,
Mr Bell said the aim of the trip was to support his strategy of improving political relations with the UK in the wake of previous tensions over issues like the Reciprocal Health Agreement and the VAT revisions.
‘We now want to draw a line under those problems and lay the foundations for a new and better understanding,’ he said. ‘Lord McNally strongly supported that view.’
He said that the Justice Minister had promised to work closely with the Manx Government to ensure that where difficulties did arise, we were given sufficient warning to prevent them becoming a future crisis. But he added: ‘He assured us that there are no immediate pressing problems.’
Mr Bell said the meetings in London on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week were an opportunity to raise the profile of the Isle of Man, promote a deeper understanding of its value to the UK economy and discuss ways of strengthening political and business alliances.
He said: ‘The Isle of Man is an important trading partner of the UK and we share the same vision of growing our economies in a balanced and sustainable way. These are challenging times, but there are also opportunities and by working together the Isle of Man and UK can explore areas of mutual benefit.’
The island’s position as a core asset to the City, and its value to the North West of England, were highlighted during a meeting with David Wootton, Lord Mayor of London.
Mr Bell said: ‘We spoke how UK markets and financial institutions benefit from the island’s success as an international business centre.
‘One of the problems of the financial services industry is liquidity and the Isle of Man plays a vitally important route for liquidity into the UK banking system.’
He said David Wootton, who was elected as the 684th Lord Mayor of the City of London in October, was keen to work with the Manx government and was delighted he had accepted his invitation to visit the island in January.
As a keen railway enthusiast, the Lord Mayor will be looking forward to visiting the Isle of Man Steam Railway, said Mr Bell.
Mr Bell discussed the current crisis in the Eurozone and its implications for the world economy when he met City MP Mark Field.