Tynwald has backed a move to schedule annual policy debates in the parliament.
A motion by Chief Minister Chris Thomas that demands the government produces a policy paper by the end of November this year, and then a policy paper ready for debate every October afterwards, was approved today (October 20).
Summing up at the end of the debate, Thomas remarked: “There does seem to be unanimous goodwill towards this motion.”
It was carried unanimously.
Opening up the debate earlier in the day, Thomas said: “We have heard from the people and listened to calls for change.
“I stood for Chief Minister on the basis that I could work with others, lead rapid delivery and reconnect how people vote, and the policies Government then pursues.
“That was at the heart of my Chief Minister manifesto: mandate politics, manifesto politics and working-together politics.”
Rapid Responses Needed
He said the world was changing.
“Economic conditions, technology, migration, climate and energy, international standards and the security of our connections do not wait for a convenient point in a five-year political cycle,” he warned.
Tynwald had to be able to respond rapidly.
“That is why we are moving quickly now and why we will return next month with the immediate priorities, the first actions and a small number of simple, meaningful measures by which Members and everyone on the Island can hold us to account.”
He added: “Speed and substance are not opposites.
“The November document is about the direction and the choices. The following fuller plan will provide the detail: milestones, resources, dependencies and the practical route to delivery.”
