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ISLEOFMANEXAMINER

Tuesday, September 14, 2021 www.iomtoday.co.im GENERAL ELECTION

newsdesk@iomtoday.co.im

Our election questionnaire

the Isle ofManoutside the island. Our aim is to separate the ‘pot- holes and dog poo’ candidates from thosewithawiderandmorethought- out perspective. We make no apologies for trying to delve a little bit deeper. In today’s Isle of Man Examiner we listcandidates inthefirstsixcon- stituencies alphabetically. The remaining constituencies will be in Thursday’s Manx Inde- pendent. RichardButt Editor

theywereprofessionalathletestotry tofindoutwhatmakes themtickpo- litically–andperhapsgiveanindica- tionabout theirpolitical judgement. Politicians should be interested inpolitics. Wehopethecandidatesherehave thought long and hard about the big issues of the day both in the Isle of Man and further afield. If they’ve not thought through thoseissues–ortrytoducktheques- tions – that also tells us something about them. During the next five years, many of ournewMHKswill also represent

Goodpoliticians have a set of be- liefsandprinciplesthatshouldmake their decision-making and voting predictable. Voters need a sense of what their candidates’ stances might be on a range of issues over the next five years. We have asked the candidates whether they backed abortion re- form and equal marriage for an in- dicationof theirviewsonsomesocial issues. We have also asked them ques- tions such as their stance on Brexit and whether they’d take the knee if

Shorter, to-the-pointanswersar- guably show a sharper mind. They alsoprove that the candidatehas ac- tuallyreadourinvitationtocomplete the questionnaire! In their coverage, other media haveadopteda ‘priorities’ approach. The answers were very similar and predictable: grow the economy, cut carbon,make governmentmore efficient, prioritise health and edu- cation. Sowewanted tofind outmore. However, we cannot ask a candi- dateabouteverypolicyorguesswhat might comeupinthenextfiveyears.

The Isle of Man goes to the polls to elect 24 Members of the House of Keys onSeptember 23. Almost all the candidates have agreed to fill in our questionnaire aboutafewissuesandtheirattitudes to politics and life in general. For thatwe thank them. There are 12 House of Keys con- stituencies. Each elects two mem- bers. We asked all the candidates to be concise and to the point. Some were rather verbose and we have had to abbreviate some an- swers.

Arbory, Castletown andMalew

Shouldwe introduce an all-island speed limit? Guernseyhasanationalisedairline. Should we? We know it’s too early to say for definite, butindulgeus.WhoshouldbethenextChief Minister? To howmany Afghans should we offer ref- uge? What piece of legislationwould you like tobring toTynwald? Ifyoucouldvote inGreatBritain,whichpar- tywould you support? If you had a vote in 2016, would you have votedforBrexit? Ifyouwereaprofessional athlete,wouldyou take the knee? Who is your favouritewriter? Who is your political hero?

Did you support the abortion reform legis- lation? Didyousupport equalmarriage? Will yousupport theprincipleof legislation to permit assisteddying? Howwould you encourage young people toreturnto the island? Whatmeasure(s)wouldyouback tomake it easier for first-time buyers? 1. Relaxed planning regulations to make it easier to build more houses? (We’ll take it as read that you’d prefer brownfield develop- ment over greenfield, but we’re happy to be surprised.) 2.Aresidencyqualificationforpropertypur- chase? 3. Punitive taxes on secondhome owners 4.Much more generous government schemestosubsidisethecostofhomesforfirst- time buyers.

Namejustonespecificthingweshoulddotocut the island’s carbon footprint. Wouldyouvoteforanincrease inincome tax topay for social care? What extrameasures shouldbe introduced to persuademore people to have Covid-19 vac- cinations? The government payroll has grown as more staff have been employed. Name one cut you’d support to reduce headcount and expense. Shouldcannabis for recreational usebede- criminalised? Howmany local authoritiesshouldthere be inthe IsleofMan? If we keep the Legislative Council, should MLCs be electedby the public? ShouldtheBishophaveanautomaticvot- ing position in the Legislative Council and Tynwald?

GRAHAMCREGEEN Occupation(beforepolitics):Self- employed decorator, lecturer IOM College, IOMPost Office CARBON:Hydrogengeneration– fuel for the future for vehicle trans- port andhome heating. SOCIALCARE:Weneedtoreview howwe fund additional social care cost as therewill beadditional costs COVID: More education on ben- efits but it is the individual’s choice if theywish to take it ONEGOVTCUT:BBCshouldfund ManxRadioaspartofourlicencefee, similar to S4C and the Channel Is- lands, saving over £1,000,000 per year. CANNABIS: There is currently a review being undertaken and this should informany outcomes. LOCALGOVT:Fourjointauthori- ties with representatives fromeach town or parish. You could also form one singlewaste authority. LEGCO: Why would you public- ly elect MLCs as they would just be similar to MHKs but with a bigger constituency? BISHOP: He should be allowed a vote if participating in full sittings. ABORTION: There have been manyother important pieces of leg- islation passed in the last adminis- tration and I wonder why this one was picked but yes, I did, but also tried to have additional safeguards incorporated into the Bill. EQUALMARRIAGE: Yes. ASSISTEDDYING: This is a very delicate matter and much more needs tobedone for those suffering and ensuring quality of life. There has to be a debate on all the issues andconsequences, I feel itwouldbe difficult toput sufficient safeguards inplacetoprotect thevulnerableso, as it stands, the answer is no. YOUNG PEOPLE: Ensuring we have a diverse economy and jobs to return to. FIRST-TIMEBUYERS: Increasing taxes on second homes may cause issues with people who are trying to help family members out, not all

peoplewanttobuy, someliketorent, and then it becomesmore about af- fordable rents. Much more generous govern- ment schemes to subsidise the cost of homes for first-time buyers. We could adapt the UK scheme which allows government to have up to a 50% shared equity in a prop- erty. This could also be part of the deposit fortheproperty. Inaddition, government could look into a loan guarantee. SPEED LIMIT: No, we should re- view the ones we have tomake sure they are appropriate for the area AIRLINE: No. CHIEF MINISTER: Depends on their policies. AFGHANS: It is not as simple as howmany. You must also see what serviceswehave to support themas many of our services for locals are already stretched such as housing, mental health and education. The correct question is do we have re- sources tohelp. LEGISLATION:Newplanninglaw and a newsentencing bill. GBPARTY: It all dependsonpoli- cies andactions that arebest for the public you represent. BREXIT: No. As the Isle of Man was never in Europe we never paid inandnevertookoutanymoney.We wereabletotradewithoutbarriers - BrexithascausedmoreissuesforIsle ofManbusiness. KNEE: It isnotabout symbols, it’s about actions and behaviours, un- derstanding people’s rights and re- specting others opinion. WRITER: DavidNiven.

HERO:Neverhadonesingleper- sonbutadmiredmanyforwhat they did on issues, ranging fromJ FKen-

tries such as Portugal progress over the coming years. LOCAL GOVT: Reorganisation is clearlyrequiredhoweverwhilekeep- ing the same number of overall offi- cialscoulditbeatwo-tiersystemand allowed to evolve. LEGCO: I note fromtheLordLis- vane reportwehaven’t actedon this requirement. Some public account- ability is required. BISHOP: I would like to have the knowledgeofhowthevoting impact of the Bishop over the years has im- pactedlegislationbeforeanabsolute decision however as the MLC I be- lieve there is a requirement for pub- lic accountability. ABORTION REFORM: Yes I did, we are an international jurisdiction and have to be respectful of our in- ternational status and humanity. I would add education on these mat- tersandmental healthisalsopartof the consideration that needs to be respected. EQUAL MARRIAGE: Yes abso- lutely, it is important in themodern world that we allow people to live their lives in an open but respect- ful way. ASSISTED DYING: I principally believe in freedomof choice, so yes. Unfortunately, I believe the current administration has shown extreme disdainforourelderlypopulationof- tenmakingmany feel obsolete. This requires a fundamental shiftbefore legislation could change. YOUNG PEOPLE: Clearly, sort out first-time buyer homes. Bring the high skilled jobs to the island, which climate change technology

plus the UNESCO Biosphere name candeliver for us. FIRST-TIME BUYERS, PLAN- NING: The eco-house I’ve already mentioned allows for simpler high- level landscaping, includingmature trees for biodiversity. I have helped others develop this for the UK’s greenbelt housing challenge.Wedo haveplentyofbrownfieldtostarton though! Simple changes to current legis- lation for developers using the new passive house system is theway for- ward.Draconianlegislationcouldbe completely counter-productive. SPEED LIMIT: Reluctant, there- fore need to be convinced. How would you administer it if we don’t haveenoughpolicemonitoring cur- rent limits. Regarding the number of accidents where are they taking place? It needs to be evidenced- based. AIRLINE:Weneedtobeextreme- lycarefulaboutnationalisingprivate business i.e. so that we can have the same success as the Steam Packet whichisnowvastlymoreexpensive? CHIEF MINISTER: A solid hand for the job is required. I amkeen for someonefemaleaslongasthey’rethe right person. AFGHANS: We are an interna- tional jurisdictionthat shouldshow humanity, ratherthanspecificnum- bers,whycan’twe invitesomeof the specific skills we need e.g. teaching andhealthcare. LEGISLATION: First-time buyer legislationforthenewpassivehouse

nedy toNoel Cringle. STEVECROWTHER

Occupation: Architect CARBONFOOTPRINT:Adoptthe affordable eco-house I have helped develop for all homes. A four-bed- roomed house for 180 K approxi- mately. Also based on this success I wish to develop a new Climate Change Technology Research Park oppositetheairporttoformthecore of the Isle ofMan’s transition. SOCIALCARE: It’snot justpaying for social care, in our constituency therearen’tevenany facilitiesother thanaprivatehome.Thisisbeyonda simple increase in tax. Rationalisa- tion and prioritisation is required before tax. COVID: More honesty and open- ness. I believe it is vital we show people the consequence of further pandemics to the economy, educa- tion,healthandhospitality.Weneed a practical civil defence strategy for future possible pandemics. ONE GOVT CUT: Cutting paper- work in farming, education, po- licing, healthcare. Some of this is seriouslycongestingtheindustries/ services concernedand the staffre- quiredtoadministerthem?Scopeof government report 2006? CANNABIS: If decriminalised howwould the police establish the difference between cannabis and harderdrugs suchas, ‘skunk’ onthe streets for example? I am however observant, as to how foreign coun-

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