Former Infrastructure Minister Dr Michelle Haywood has issued a stinging rebuke of Chief Minister Alf Cannan, stating she was “sacked” with “no prior warning or notice” and accusing his administration of “chaotic and unstable” leadership.
The Rushen MHK’s comments follow her sudden removal from the Department of Infrastructure on Monday.
In a detailed statement, Dr Haywood directly contradicted the Chief Minister’s description of events, insisting she did not step down voluntarily.
“I did not ‘step down’ from the position as Minister for the Department of Infrastructure. The use of the term by the Chief Minister was misleading. I was sacked,” Dr Haywood stated.
She described being informed of the decision via a “brief WhatsApp call”, during which Mr Cannan said he had decided she was “stepping down”.
Dr Haywood alleged the Chief Minister had already informed other MHKs of her purported resignation before telling her.
Cowardice
“Not to inform me before he had told other backbenchers was poor form,” she said. “I regard my sacking by telephone call, and not face to face as a mark of the quality, or rather lack thereof, of the current Chief Minister.”
She added: “Whether driven by his cowardice or desire to catch the 8am news headlines, or maybe a blend of both, I consider his poor behaviour to be shocking, though not unsurprising.”
According to Dr Haywood, the Chief Minister cited policy disagreements on speed reduction, the Local Government Amendment Bill, the waste strategy, the draft budget, and the minimum wage during their call. She stressed these matters had all been “discussed and voted on in Council of Ministers”.
“I find it sad that the Chief Minister is willing to drop commitments in the Island Plan which formed part of his covenant with the Manx people,” Dr Haywood said.
She expressed “deep concern” that he was “clearly willing to ignore Tynwald resolutions if they appear at all tricky to deliver”.
U-Turns
Launching a broader critique of Mr Cannan’s leadership, Dr Haywood characterised the administration as being defined by “a number of U turns”.
“He is a leader who lacks courage to take morally right, evidence-based decisions, who prefers vacuous headline catching announcements to real substance and who has presided over the most chaotic and unstable executive government the Island has ever experienced,” she stated.
“I believe the Council of Ministers chamber will shortly be fitted with a revolving door to accommodate the remaining rump months of this administration.”
Dr Haywood also questioned Mr Cannan’s recent comments to a Tynwald committee about wanting more direct power.
“The island doesn’t need a dictatorship and giving the Chief Minister more power would be a dreadful mistake,” she said.
“We have a Chief Minister whose priorities are led by social media commentary rather than carefully considered policy,” she added, claiming he lacks the “dexterity of thought and political ability to convince his own ministerial team”.
Change
Concluding her statement, Dr Haywood thanked staff at the Department of Infrastructure for their support and defended her record.
“Sometimes in politics, hard decisions have to be made in order to deliver meaningful change.
“Delivering change and improvement takes courage,” she said. “I have strived at all time to stick to these principles, even in the face of deeply personal attacks on me.”
She finished with a final condemnation of the Chief Minister: “Mr Cannan’s tenure will not be remembered for his strong, courageous and stable leadership because it has been none of those things.”