As I arrived back at my front door, circa two o’clock Friday morning, my first election campaign within the media drew to a close. It’s been a process fraught with rule-breakers and history-makers, but as the dust settles, we have 24 names set to dictate the next half-decade of policy in our island.
In covering the political rollercoaster ride over the last few months, I have become more embroiled in the nitty gritty of an election campaign than I have ever previously or ever thought I would. It’s been an education, and here are my headlines.
Don’t Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out
You would have had to have been living under a rock, likely with ear plugs in and a blindfold on, not to know that there was an unmistakable undertone of real discontent among voters, where the performance of the last government is concerned.
The evidence is plain to see. Fifteen new incumbents, and wholesale changes expected in key ministerial positions, it is a real reshuffle in what has been touted as one of the most important General Elections in decades.
However, many leading lights from the last government have been handed a second bite of the cherry, with the express instruction: more of the same will not be tolerated. This appears to have been acknowledged by those who’ve been returned, none more so than Chief Minister Alf Cannan. He was awash with relief when speaking to Manx.News‘ Charlie Morrey, and described this campaign as “humbling”.
However, I’ve seen many say that some of the returnees are lucky to be back. They are not. They’re back on merit, and on the confidence of the Manx public. If that confidence is to be maintained, however, they must heed the warning shots that sounded out in constituencies where their former colleagues didn’t experience the same show of faith.
Never Mind the Buzzwords
“We must reduce the deficit”, “We must grow the economy”, “housing has to be a priority”….
Fabulous. Care to explain how you plan on executing on that? Or are we to assume that the outgoing government sat on their hands for the good of their, or rather our, health?
Too often throughout this election process have we seen candidates adopt a stern expression as they reveal that our island’s trajectory is a dire one. However, few have possessed the confidence, knowledge and tact to explain how they would right a seemingly sinking ship. What good is identifying a problem, if you are clueless as to the solution?
Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater, mind you. Exceptions to the above have shone in this election, duly being rewarded with a seat at the table. Stephen Broad’s bullish outlook on transport links surely helped propel him to victory in Ayre and Michael, ahead of the aforementioned Chief Minister at the top of the polls.
Meanwhile, Katryna Baptist’s proposal of funding mechanisms to assist residents taking up off-island qualifications in weaker sectors of the Manx economy, saw her amass enough support to take top spot in Glenfaba and Peel.
As this new government takes shape, those elected should remember that their chief responsibility now is answers, not questions, while unsuccessful candidates may wish they had dug a bit deeper into the mechanisms involved in solving the issues that matter most to their constituents.
The Kids are Playing Up
Daniel Davison. Wow. The 18-year-old becomes the youngest member of the House of Keys since records began in 1417, shaving a whopping seven years of Peter Karran’s record set in the 1985 election. As a Peel man myself, my constituency making history does leave me feeling rather chuffed.
The teenage MHK will rightly get his flowers, and he personifies an encouraging outlook for the future of politics on the Isle of Man, but I was even more interested in what his success tells us about voters. We are so often told that the younger generation are resistant to politics, that they (or I suppose “we”, given that I’m 22) have little interest in having their say.
But is that true?
When turnout details emerge, I am sure it will reveal that Davison mobilised the youth vote effectively and was able to communicate with a generation that feels alienated and disenfranchised by current policy.
In my experience, the dialogue among younger people has been far greater with this election than previous, and given the impetus put on talent retention and affordable housing, many successful candidates thought it a demographic worth tapping into.
As average house prices edge towards £390,000, and the first-time buyers register grows ever longer, it is vital that the newly elected members are alive to the harsh reality that young Manx talent is leaving the island in droves. Remaining here, for the overwhelming majority, is simply unachievable. Davison, if nothing else, has skin in that game.
I, for one, am thrilled to have some young blood in Keys. Davison will undoubtedly receive increased scrutiny and criticism given his age and comparative lack of professional experience, but ask yourself this: where has the wealth of knowledge we have elected in recent times got us, and what good is an island that quietly edges towards glorified retirement home status?
