Questions over how the next administration would pay for a range of spending commitments took centre stage during the Chief Minister hustings.
Ayre and Michael MHK and outgoing Chief Minister Alf Cannan challenged candidates Chris Thomas and Kirrie Jenkins on the sustainability of their proposals.
Mr Cannan noted that throughout the afternoon candidates had discussed measures involving potentially millions of pounds in additional spending, including support for households, welfare commitments, education investment and major infrastructure projects such as electricity grid upgrades.
He asked a “simple question” of both candidates: how they intended to fund the commitments being discussed.
Priortise Projects
Chris Thomas said the issue was one of the most important facing the next administration and argued that government needed to distinguish between capital spending and revenue expenditure.
He said the island’s current capital programme amounted to around £80 million a year, with around £30 million spent on Manx Utilities Authority projects and £50 million on maintaining existing infrastructure.
However, Mr Thomas warned that future national infrastructure requirements could run into “hundreds of millions” of pounds and said government would need to prioritise projects based on national need.
He pointed to schools, healthcare facilities and wider infrastructure as areas where priorities would need to be assessed before funding decisions were made.
Mr Thomas also highlighted the need for a long-term capital project pipeline and said government would have to determine the relative importance of projects including education developments such as the QEII High School STEM block, Henry Bloom Noble facilities, Castle Rushen High School and Scoill ny Jubilee.
On revenue spending, he acknowledged the island’s structural deficit and said government had to return to a sustainable position.
“We need to be brutal with ourselves,” he said.
Mr Thomas argued that priority-based budgeting would play a key role in helping departments understand the full cost of proposals before decisions were taken.
Elephant in the Room
Kirrie Jenkins agreed that priority-based budgeting should form part of the solution, but said public finances needed greater discipline.
She warned against continued reliance on reserves and called for a clear, published roadmap towards a balanced budget.
“We need growth and we need discipline and we need transparency together,” she said.
Mrs Jenkins also identified healthcare as the greatest financial challenge facing government.
“The elephant in the room is health,” she said. “It’s the biggest single risk to our finances and it’s also what people care about the most.”
She called for improved governance, a recovery programme with clear milestones and regular reporting to Tynwald, alongside what she described as an honest conversation with the public about spending priorities.
The exchange formed part of a hustings ahead of House of Keys members selecting the island’s next Chief Minister.
