THE Positive Action Group has given its support to a bill to reform the House of Keys and Legislative Council.
The Electoral Reform Bill 2011, promoted by David Callister MLC, provides for MLCs to be publicly elected on a constituency basis.
And it promotes the idea of eight new constituencies being drawn up – with three MHKs and one MLC being returned by each.
A joint House of Keys and Legislative Council committee was set up in December to consider constitutional principles raised by the bill.
At the latest sitting last Friday, Roger Tomlinson, chairman of the political lobby group, spoke in favour of having directly elected MLCs, saying: ‘If this bill came in it would give more power to the electorate and it would be perceived as extending the democratic power.’
And he said he believed it would also lead to residents taking more of an interest in politics.
Meanwhile, Mr Tomlinson said that having three MHKs per constituency – at present constituencies have either one, two or three – would enable a democratic anomaly to be rectified, leading to equality of representation.
In addition, Mr Tomlinson said that members of LegCo should be eligible to become government ministers – and if they were elected by the public, that would give it a legitimacy.
He acknowledged that were an MLC to be appointed as a minister now ‘there would be somewhat of a mild public outcry at the fact that they were not democratically elected by the public’.
Eddie Lowey MLC, who moved in LegCo for the joint committee to be set up, also gave evidence last week.
He said that having publicly elected MLCs would ‘fundamentally alter the balances and checks that are in place now’.
He added: ‘The Keys, which we now recognise as the legitimate and primary voice, will not be primary any more.’
In addition, Mr Lowey said that not enough weight was being given to the historical links of parishes, constituencies and local loyalties.
He said: ‘I think sometimes, in looking at simply weighing out the electorate into absolute equal numbers, that in itself destroys what I would call localities and history, and I think that is well worth keeping.
‘I am a Manxman, I am proud of our history and our heritage, and I believe that equally gives me concern.’
He said that while he had been part of the ‘charge for reform’, he believed that the pace of reform now needed to slow down.
He added: ‘We are now an international centre based on our system of sound government.’
The committee is chaired by Douglas East MHK Brenda Cannell.
Its members are MHKs Phil Gawne (Rushen), Leonard Singer (Ramsey), and MLCs Phil Braidwood, David Callister and Alex Downie. The bill received its first reading in LegCo in June 2011.