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33 newsdesk@iomtoday.co.im the airline is currently esti- mated to cost Guernsey tax- payers £50,000 a day. So no, I don’tbelieveitwouldbeapru- dentuseof taxpayers’monies. CHIEF MINISTER: It would depend on what the candidates are offering. I see the problems of the next five years as being domestic ones such as affordable housing, climate change and econom- ic diversification. I would be looking for a candidate who was willing to tackle those problems. But not to be seen to avoid the question assum- ing they are returned at the election I would see the two

ISLEOFMANEXAMINER

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

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service would ensure that we have routes to theUKwithout fearof airlines foldingorclos- ing routes, but at what cost? Again, something that would require further discussion. CHIEF MINISTER: I can- not provide you with a name, howeverthenextChiefMinis- ter should be a person who is there to serve the island and its people. Who puts the is- landsneedsbefore theirown. Who is principled, and leads by example. AFGHANS: I amahumani- tarianatheart. Itakepeopleas Ifindthemregardlessof their colouror creed. Iwant tohelp where I can, there is no ques- tion about that. However, we mustthinkpragmatically,and discussionsmusttakeplacein regardstohowmanywecould bring here, and the impact it couldhaveonourcommunity, health services, housing and education.Soadefinitefigure I cannotprovideyouwith, but I would like the island to help wherewe can. LEGISLATION; Iwouldlike tosee legislationthathastrav- elled throughTynwald be im- plemented into law ASAP..... such as the Sexual Offences andObscenePublicationsBill, and theDomesticAbuse Bill. NewlegislationIwouldlike to see is where government is heldtoaccountbybodieswith statutory powers such as a Children’sCommissionerand aVictimsCommissioner,who sitontheperipheryofgovern- ment and hold government anddepartments to account. I would also like govern- ment to be more accessible to the general public by way of example, introducing a pe- tition system that is directly linkedtogovernment, suchas intheUK. Thiswouldprovide peoplewith a voice. GB PARTY: I was raised a Labour girl, a party for the working class people. Albeit, it isfarfromthepoliticalparty that it used to be. BREXIT: Ididn’thaveavote in 2016, so I couldn’t possibly answer this question. If I did haveavoteIwouldhavescruti- nised it a lotmore at the time. KNEE: No! Racism feeds racism. I never understood why the act that killed a man became the stance of which everyone agreed. Taking the knee represented how George Floyd was killed. If he was killed by a bullet would the stance have been that everyone take aim? It didn’t make sense tome then, it still doesn’t now. Albeit, I do un- derstandtheprinciplebehind this stance. But I still would not have taken the knee. Editor’s note: Taking the knee began on sportsfields in theUSAin2016,well beforeMr Floyd’smurder. WRITER:NotsosureIhave afavourite.Desideratawritten byMax Ehrmann is one ofmy favourite poems. HERO: Yet tofind one. AMANDAWALKER OCCUPATION: Teacher, social care worker, advertis-

ing sales, fish and game sales, hotel equipment sales. CARBON: Make bus travel cheap and efficient. SOCIAL CARE: I would supporttaxriseratherthanNI riseanddothisviatax justice. COVID: Covid vaccination should be a personal choice, but the facts rather than fake news shouldbe promoted. ONE GOVT CUT: Depart- ment of Infrastructure man- agement clearlyhave failed in last five years and should be streamlined. Clear grounds for capability. CANNABIS: Recreational cannabisuseshouldnotbe le- galisedbut licensed. LOCAL GOVT: Probably five;PossiblyDouglasandOn- chan,West, South, North and Middle. LEGCO: MLCs should be electedby the public. BISHOP: Religious lead- ers should rotate and have time according to the num- ber of adherents as identified in census. ABORTION REFORM: Abortion is a matter of per- sonal conscienceandcontext. I support a woman’s right to choose and a doctor’s right to refuse to carry out termina- tions. EQUAL MARRIAGE: Ab- solutely celebrate equal mar- riage. ASSISTEDDYING: Inprin- ciplebutthis isaverycomplex area and legislationmust not berushed.Needsafeguardsto protect vulnerable people. YOUNGPEOPLE:Waivetu- ition contributions if return to work, wider range of jobs, housing assistance, graduate internships. FIRST-TIMEBUYERS: PLANNING: NO. Need to regulate planning tightly and emphasiseaffordableandsus- tainable housing. RESIDENCE QUALIFICA- TION. NO. Very rigid and dis- courages immigration,which strengthens the economy. SECONDHOMES. Second homes are a small minority and would have little impact onhousing stock. GENEROUS SCHEMES. Very divisive, interest rates have never been lower. Peo- pleusedtowait andsave, nev- er “easy” to byfirst home. SPEED LIMIT: An all-is- land speed limit would ruin themotorsports enthusiasts’ enjoyment of our island. I do support 20 is plenty in built up areas. AIRLINE: Nationalised airline makes no economic sense. CHIEFMINISTER: Iwould like to see awoman, if elected Jane PooleWilson. AFGHANS: We have some skill shortages which Afghan refugees could ultimately fill. I thinkwecouldadopt aspon- sor’s scheme. Refugees could be sponsored by groups of people who wish to support themthroughthetransition. I thinkc.20asaninitialproject. LEGISLATION:Legislation to win a Peace with drugs as the ‘war’ has been lost andwe

need a sensitive and sensible way forward. GBPARTY: Iwouldvotetac- ticallyintheUKdependingon where I lived, Greenwouldbe my most likely choice in an openfield. BREXIT: I am firmly anti- Brexit. I think itwas anexam- ple of populism at its worst and that the remain camp se- riously misjudged and under campaigned. KNEE: Yes, I would. I sup- port Manchester City and think Raheem Sterling has been treated very badly by racists. AUTHOR: Hilary Mantel and JaneAusten jointly. HERO: David Penhaligon, the best leader the Liberals never had, taken too young. Occupation (before poli- tics):Chief executiveof a local projectcompany, alsoworked withinfinanceand insurance sectors. CARBON:Changetobuild- ing standards to ensure that homes have to be energy ef- ficient. SOCIALCARENot income tax specifically as I think that is thewrong tax, but thereare options that can be looked at aroundNational Insurance. COVID: Continuing edu- cation and messaging. There will alwaysbepeoplewhowill not wish to be vaccinated, or indeed can’t be vaccinated due to other conditions. But needs to be continuing edu- cationandmessaging around the dangers of not being vac- cinated so people can make informed choices. ONE GOVT CUT: I be- lieve in government becom- ing a single legal entity. This would allow for more cross department functionssuchas financeandalsotheestablish- ment of a centralised capital projects unit rather than de- partments duplicating these functions. CANNABIS: It’s important to point out that decrimi- nalisation does not mean something becoming legal, legalisation and decriminali- sationaretwodifferent things which often get confused. So if it’s in relation legalisation the answer is no.While I sup- port medicinal cannabis be- ing available for medical use ifproperlyprescribedIdonot supportfulldecriminalisation for recreational use. I have seen first hand as Minister forHealthandSocialCarethe impact it can have on certain individualsasagatewaydrug. I would however support the decriminalisation of posses- sion of small amounts. To criminalise people for small amountsandputtingthethem through the courts system is Douglas North DAVIDASHFORD

SPEED LIMIT: This is one where I can see both the pros and cons of the proposal. Ra- re for me not to have an im- mediate opinion but it’s one I remain to be convinced of by both sides of the argument. AIRLINE: No. Airlines are veryexpensivetorunandcar- rymassivefinancial exposure particularlyifpassengernum- bersfluctuate.Guernsey isan example in point where in 2019thetaxpayerlossesonthe airline were in the region of £7mandin2020nearly£10m. In April Guernsey confirmed thatoverall lossescouldreach an historic high of £70m and

LOCAL GOVT: Howmany local authorities shouldthere be in the Isle of Man? Five. North, South, East, West and Douglas. LEGCO: Voting members Legislative Council should be publicly elected. BISHOP: No. While I have noobjectiontotheBishophav- ingaseatonLegislativeCoun- cil, like the Attorney General they should not be a voting member. I voted for the re- moval of the Bishop’s vote in the Lisvane Tynwald debates in2017. ABORTIONREFORM: Yes. I also became Minister for Health and Social Care as the Bill was progressing through the House of Keys and have helped drive forward its im- plementationwithinDHSC. EQUALMARRIAGE: Yes. ASSISTED DYING: This isn’t as simple as a yes or no answer unfortunately. This is a complex area and what is crucial is what safeguards are proposed to prevent peo- ple being bullied, psychologi- callytalkedintoitorgenerally putunderpressurebyothers. Also,strictproceduresaround how the persons consent will be verified and recorded. So while I have no immediate objection to the issue being discussed or proposals being brought forward any support would depend on what safe- guardsareproposedandwhat is being proposed. YOUNGPEOPLE:We need to show the benefits of start- ing and bringing up a family on the island and show that island is a good safe place to bothliveandwork.Butwewill only do that if we tackle head on issues such as affordable housing which you ask about in your next section. FIRST-TIMEBUYERS: PLANNING: There needs to be incentives to build on brownfieldsitesbut alsostip- ulations around size of dwell- ings and future proofing of the build. People want a long term family home not some- thingtheywillhavetomoveon fromin years to come. RESIDENCY QUALIFICA- TION: For multiple property purchasethenpotentiallyyes. But we also if we are going to diversify the economic base we need to encourage new people to come to the island and raise their families here. SECOND HOME TAX: This has been tried by other jurisdictions over the years and fromwhat I can see none can point to it being success- ful or having fundamentally changed thepropertymarket or decreased costs for others. G O V E R N M E N T SCHEMES: What we need to look at is the over schemes and having amix of schemes. Shared equity schemes, rent to buy and also schemes for those wishing to downsize as they get on later in life. First time buyers is only one el- ement of the housing mar- ket and it shouldn’t be being looked at in isolation.

ALISON LYNCH Candidate for the House of Keys Election

Thursday 23rd September 2021

Vote Alison Lynch X