A meeting billed an alternative to the government’s ‘Big Debate’ meetings attracted 50 people on Friday.
The 2020 meeting, at Onchan Parish Hall in Royal Avenue, was addressed by Onchan MHK Peter Karran (Liberal Vannin), Douglas West MHK Chris Thomas and Onchan commissioner Rob Callister.
It was chaired by the Captain of the Parish Peter Kelly.
It looked at means testing, an issue that’s currently big in the news because of government plans to introduce more of it as the squeeze on public finances tightens. A government plan to introduce means testing for council and commissioners’ housing next year was recently scuppered when the government learned it did not have the power to introduce it.
An Examiner reader contacted us to point out that apart from Rob Callister, none of the other Onchan commissioners turned up, yet a commissioner from Patrick and one from Braddan attended. Onchan MHKs David Quirk and Zac Hall also didn’t go.
Another attraction in the village, the Manx Arms’ mhelliah, might have dented the attendance figures, he suggested.