STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF KEYS

Report on the method of election of MLCs

The Standing Orders Committee of the House of Keys has published a report (PP 2024/0071) setting out new proposals for how Members of the Legislative Council  (MLCs) could be elected in the future.

The Committee decided to review this procedure following the elections to the Legislative Council which took place in March 2023. All Members of Tynwald have been consulted and the responses given are published within the report.

The Legislative Council is the revising Chamber of the Manx legislature. It sits alone to consider new primary legislation, and sits jointly with the House of Keys as part of Tynwald Court to consider policy, finance and secondary legislation. Its Members are a fundamental part of Tynwald and may be called on to take roles in Government.

Under the Isle of Man Constitution Act 1919 it is the function of the House of Keys to elect Members to the Legislative Council, with the elections taking place twice in every five years. Before 2000 the majority of MLCs were former MHKs and were therefore well known to the House and to the public more generally. As more MLCs have come in from outside, efforts have been made to open the procedure up and make it more like a conventional recruitment process. The latest proposals would represent a further development in that direction by introducing an application form for the first time. If the proposals are approved, candidates would in the future be able to submit an application for consideration without first having to make contact with any MHK.

The proposals will be debated in the House of Keys on a date yet to be specified. If agreed by the House they would have immediate effect. This means that they would be put into practice the next time it is necessary to elect members to the Legislative Council, which will be in March 2025 or sooner in the event of a casual vacancy arising.

The full report can be found by clicking the following link: https://www.tynwald.org.im/business/pp/Reports/2024-PP-0071.pdf

A previous report by the same Committee, published in April 2024, proposed changes to the procedure for electing the Chief Minister. See the following link: https://www.tynwald.org.im/ business/pp/Reports/2024-PP-0051.pdf

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More information about the Committee’s membership and work can be found on the Tynwald website. 

For further information contact:

Jonathan King
Clerk to the Committee
Legislative Buildings, Finch Road, Douglas, IM1 3PW
Tel: (01624) 685500
Email: committees@tynwald.org.im