Douglas South MHK Kate Beecroft has long expressed concerns about collective responsibility in government.
But in Tynwald last week – much to her surprise – collective responsibility worked in her favour for once.
The Liberal Vannin leader didn’t hold out much hope of success for her motion that the Council of Ministers investigate alternative systems for ensuring that collective responsibility is enforced in a ‘more open, transparent and democratic way’ – and report back to Tynwald by June.
The need for debate was cut short by Home Affairs Minister Juan Watterson saying that he was bound by CoMin to support it: ‘CoMin has decided to support the motion as it’s presented and approach it with an open mind.’
Under the rules of collective responsibility, members of the Council of Ministers are expected to vote in favour of policies agreed by ministers on the floor of Tynwald.
Members of departments are expected to back their department’s policy, or resign or be sacked.
Mr Watterson said despite the rules of collective responsibility, some conversations in CoMin were ‘even more vociferous’ than those in Tynwald, adding: ‘Sometimes Tynwald debates would be enhanced by the different views of Ministers.’
Mrs Beecroft said the current system created ‘party politics by stealth’.
She said it was not democratic that the Chief Minister was not publicly elected, and there was no published manifesto on which they stood.
Her motion in February 2013 for an examination of collective responsibility had failed, with19 votes against in the Keys and no support in LegCo.
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