Legislative Council of the Isle of Man

Legislative Council Yn Choonceil Slattyssagh
Type
Type	Upper house of the Tynwald
Leadership
President	Stephen Rodan Since 19 July 2016
Seats	11
Elections
Voting system	Indirect election
Website
www.tynwald.org.im/council

The Legislative Council (Manx: Yn Choonceil Slattyssagh) is the upper chamber of Tynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man. It is often referred to as "LegCo".

It consists of eleven Members (MLCs):

• Eight members elected by the Keys
• Three ex officio members:
  • The Bishop of Sodor and Man
  • The President of Tynwald (casting vote)
  • The Attorney General (non-voting)

The MLCs are elected by the House of Keys by secret ballot for a term of four years. Four retire every two years, so four MLCs are elected at a time. An MLC must be at least 21 years old and resident in the Isle of Man.

Formerly, the Lieutenant Governor presided over the Legislative Council and over Tynwald Court (a joint session of the Council and the House of Keys). Now, however, the President of Tynwald, who is chosen by the whole Tynwald for a six-year term, is the ex officio President of the Legislative Council, and presides over both the Legislative Council and Tynwald Court, except that the Lieutenant Governor presides once a year on Tynwald Day.

Furthermore, the Church of England Bishop of Sodor and Man and the Attorney General appointed by the Lord of Mann have seats on the Legislative Council. The Bishop is a voting member, the Attorney General is a non-voting member, and the President has the casting vote.

The Council does not normally originate legislation (the last Act originating from the Council was the Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1986). Instead, it reviews legislation from the House of Keys.

The Council, being elected by the MHKs themselves, does not have significant authority in Tynwald.

2016 Review of the Functioning of Tynwald

For many years there has been considerable debate about the functioning of Tynwald, and specifically about the composition, method of election, and functions of the Legislative Council. In the past, a number of reforms were made in the composition of the Legislative Council, which are set out below. In 2016 Lord Lisvane was asked to carry out a review of the functioning of Tynwald. Among his recommendations were:

• Members of LegCo should continue not to be directly elected, but instead should be nominated by an independent Nominations Commission to the House of Keys. No sitting MHK could be nominated.

• LegCo should not vote on taxation or appropriation.

• Only exceptionally should MLCs be ministers.

• The Bishop should continue as an ex officio voting member of LegCo.

Composition

Original

The original function of the Legislative Council was executive (i.e. giving advice to the Lieutenant Governor) and its membership was entirely appointed, as follows:

• Lieutenant Governor
• First Deemster
• Second Deemster
• Clerk of the Rolls
• Attorney General
• Receiver General
• Water Bailiff
• Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Archdeacon of Sodor and Man
• Vicar General of Sodor and Man

The first seven were Crown appointments and the last two appointments by the Bishop. Reforms were slowly made to reduce the number of judicial and religious appointments and these members were slowly replaced by indirectly elected members.

1917 reform

In 1917, the Judicature (Amendment) Act introduced by the Legislative Council removed Clerk of the Rolls from the composition of the Council. It then consisted of the following members:

• Lieutenant Governor
• First Deemster
• Second Deemster
• Attorney General
• Receiver General
• Water Bailiff
• Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Archdeacon of Sodor and Man
• Vicar General of Sodor and Man

1919 reform

In 1919, The Archdeacon; the Vicar General; and the Receiver General were removed as ex officio members of the Council by the Isle of Man Constitution Amendment Act 1919. The members were thus:

• Lieutenant Governor
• First Deemster
• Second Deemster
• Attorney General
• Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Two members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor
• Four members elected by the House of Keys

1961 reform

Replaced an appointed member by an elected member.

1965 reform

The Second Deemster lost his seat in the Council. The members were thus:

• Lieutenant Governor
• First Deemster
• Attorney General
• Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Two members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor
• Seven members elected by the House of Keys

1969 reform

The Isle of Man Constitution Act 1969 removed the two appointed members of the LegCo. The members were thus:

• Lieutenant Governor
• First Deemster
• Attorney General
• Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Seven members elected by the House of Keys

1975 reform

The First Deemster lost his seat in the Council, by virtue of the Isle of Man Constitution (Amendment) Act 1975. The members were thus:

• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Eight members elected by the House of Keys

1980 reform

The Lieutenant Governor was removed as Presiding Officer and replaced by an indirectly elected President of the Legislative Council. The Governor still presided at joint sittings of Tynwald. The members were thus:

• President of the Legislative Council
• Attorney General
• Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Seven members elected by the House of Keys

1990 reform and current composition

The Lieutenant Governor is removed as Presiding Officer of Tynwald and replaced by a member of Tynwald elected by the Members of the court (i.e., the High Court of Tynwald) as President of Tynwald. The President of Tynwald is also a member of the Legislative Council and presides at its sittings. The members are thus:

• President of Tynwald
• Attorney General
• Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Eight members elected by the House of Keys

The non ex officio members are elected by the House of Keys for terms which end at the end of February following the fourth anniversary of their election.

Membership

Name	Position	Tenure	Replacing
Steve Rodan	President of Tynwald Elected Member	Since 2016	Clare Christian
Rt Rev. Robert Paterson MA	Bishop of Sodor and Man	Since 2008	Graeme Paul Knowles
Stephen Harding QC	Attorney General	Since 2011	John Corlett
Geoff Corkish	Elected Member	Since 2013	David Callister
Michael Coleman	Elected Member	Since 2013	Edmund Lowey
Alan Crowe	Elected Member Elected Member	1998–2002 Since 2007	Brian Barton Leonard Singer
Dudley Butt	Elected Member	Since 2005	Dominic Delaney
Alex Downie	Elected Member	Since 2005	Ray Kniveton
Juan Turner	Elected Member	Since 2007	Donald Gelling
Phil Braidwood	Elected Member	Since 2010	George Waft
Tony Wild	Elected Member	Since 2011	Clare Christian
David Callister	Elected Member	2008-2013	Pam Crowe
Edmund Lowey	Elected Member	1982-2013	George Swales
Leonard Singer	Elected Member	2003–2006	Alan Crowe
Arthur Christian Luft	Attorney General Elected Member	1972–1974 1988–1998	Lay Ian Anderson
John William Corrin	Attorney General	1974–1980	Arthur Luft
Thomas William Cain QC	Attorney General	1980–1993	Jack Corrin
Michael Kerruish QC	Attorney General	1993–1998	William Cain
John Corlett QC	Attorney General	1998–2011	Michael Kerruish
Graeme Knowles	Bishop of Sodor and Man	2003–2008	Noël Jones
Donald Gelling	Elected Member	2002–2007	Norman Radcliffe
Clifford Irving	Elected Member	1987–1995	Matty Ward
Noel Cringle	President of Tynwald	2000–2011	Sir Charles Kerruish
Sir Charles Kerruish	President of Tynwald	1990–2000	Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson	Elected Member President of the Legislative Council Elected Member	1982–1988 1988–1990 1990–1993	Geoff Crellin Jack Nivison [new position - elected member 8]
Jack Nivison	Elected Member President of the Legislative Council	1962–1980 1980–1988	Alfred Teare [new position]
Joseph Qualtrough	Elected Member & Receiver General	1919–1933	New position
Joseph Cunningham	Elected Member	1919–1924	New position
R C Cain	Elected Member & Receiver General (1934–1950)	1919–1924	Joseph Cunningham
John Robert Kerruish	Elected Member	1919–1924	New position
William Southward	Elected Member	1919–1943	New position
Geo Drinkwater	Appointed Member	1919–1920	New position
Richard Barton Quirk	Appointed Member	1919–1942	New position
Sir John Bolton	Appointed Member Elected Member	1962–1970 1971–1979	John Crellin Henry Nicholls
G C Gale	Elected Member	1964–1966	Ewan Farrant
Ffinlo Corkill	Elected Member	1966–1974	G C Gale
Major Geoffrey Crellin	Elected Member	1975–1982	New position
Norman Crowe OBE JP	Elected Member	1970–1978	Cecil McFee
Captain John Crellin OBE MC JP	Appointed Member	1943–1962	Daniel Teare
Betty Hanson	Elected Member	1982–1988	Alfred Simcocks MBE
Robert Kerruish	Elected Member	1970–1985	?
Victor Kneale	Elected Member	1974–1981	Hubert Radcliffe
Roy MacDonald	Elected Member	1978–1985	Norman Crowe
Cecil McFee	?	1962–1971	?
Alec Moore	Elected Member	1979–1985	William E Quayle
Henry Nicholls	Elected Member	1958–1970	Joseph Callister
William E Quayle	Elected Member	1970–1978	[new position]
Willy Quirk	Elected Member	1987–1993	Dr Edgar Mann
Norman Radcliffe	Elected Member	1985–2002	Roy MacDonald
Percy Radcliffe	Elected Member	1980–1985	Sir John Bolton
Alfred Simcocks MBE	Elected Member	1974–1982	Ffinlo Corkhill
George Swales	Elected Member	1982–1982	Victor Kneale
Matthew Ward	Elected Member	1985–1987	Alec Moore
Arthur Attwell	Bishop of Sodor and Man	1983–1988	Vernon Nicholls
Noël Jones	Bishop of Sodor and Man	1989–2003	Arthur Attwell
Vernon Nicholls	Bishop of Sodor and Man	1973–1983	?
George Moore	First Deemster	1969–1974	?
Sir Ralph Stevenson GCMG CP JP	Appointed Member	1955–1970	?
William Watson Christian	?	1848–1867	?
Rev. William Christian	?	1883–1187	?
William Quirk	?	1887–1893	?
William Anderson	Receiver General	1894–1909	John Cowell
John Cowell	Receiver General	1909–1919	?
John Goldie-Taubman	Appointed Member	1921–1924	Geo Drinkwater
Edward Callister	Elected Member	1921–1931	John Robert Kerruish
John Clucas	Appointed Member	1924–1928	John Goldie-Taubman
Frank Dagleish	Elected Member	1931–1946	Edward Callister
Charles Gill	Elected Member	1934–1954	Arthur Crookall
Arthur Crookall	Elected Member	1934–1935	Joseph Qualtrough
Joseph Callister	Elected Member	1946–1958	?
Ewan Farrant	Elected Member	1954–1964	?
Hubert Radcliffe	?	1963–1974	?

Elections

Year	Election	Previous members	Candidates	Elected
2013	Scheduled	Edmund Lowey David Callister Tony Wild Juan Turner	Tony Wild Juan Turner Michael Coleman Geoff Corkish Linda Bowers-Kasch Peter Hill Nigel Malpass	Tony Wild Juan Turner Michael Coleman Geoff Corkish
2011	Elevation of President of Tynwald	Clare Christian	Brian Rae, 5 votes Tony Wild, 16 votes	Tony Wild
2011	Resignation of the President of Tynwald	Noel Cringle	Tony Brown Steve Rodan Clare Christian	Clare Christian
2011	Resignation of the Attorney General	John Corlett QC	Stephen Harding QC	Stephen Harding QC
2010	Scheduled	Alan Crowe George Waft Dudley Butt Alex Downie	Phil Braidwood Dudley Butt Alex Downie George Waft Alan Crowe Kevin Woodford David Talbot John Skinner Brenda Cannell Barbara Brereton	Phil Braidwood Alex Downie Dudley Butt Alan Crowe
2008	Scheduled	Clare Christian Pamela Crowe Edmund Lowey Juan Turner	Clare Christian Pamela Crowe Edmund Lowey Juan Turner Simon Graley Dick Horsnell David Callister	Clare Christian Edmund Lowey Juan Turner David Callister
2008	Change in Lord Bishop	Graeme Paul Knowles	N/A	Robert Paterson
2007	Resignations	Leonard Singer Donald Gelling	Charles Cain Alan Crowe Leonard Singer Peter Kelly John Lightfoot Richard Radcliffe David Owens David Moore Juan Turner	Alan Crowe Juan Turner
2005	Scheduled	Dominic Delaney Donald Gelling George Waft Ray Kniveton	Dudley Butt Dominic Delaney Alex Downie Donald Gelling Howard Parkin George Waft	Donald Gelling Dudley Butt George Waft Alex Downie
2003	Scheduled	Edgar Mann (voluntarily stepping down) Clare Christian Alan Crowe Ray Kniveton Edmund Lowey	St John Bates Andrew Roy Roger Watterson Clare Christian Pamela Crowe Ray Kniveton Leonard Singer	Clare Christian Pamela Crowe Ray Kniveton Edmund Lowey Leonard Singer
2003	Resignation of the Lord Bishop	Noël Jones	N/A	Graeme Knowles
2002	Death	Norman Radcliffe	Donald Gelling	Donald Gelling
2000	Scheduled	Edgar Mann Dominic Delaney George Waft Norman Radcliffe	Edgar Mann Dominic Delaney David North Norman Radcliffe George Waft	Dominic Delaney George Waft Norman Radcliffe Edgar Mann
2000	Resignation of the President of Tynwald	Charles Kerruish	Noel Cringle	Noel Cringle
1998	Attorney General promoted to First Deemster	Mike Kerruish QC	N/A	John Corlett QC
1998	Scheduled	Edmund Lowey Arthur Luft Clare Christian Brian Barton	Edmund Lowey Ray Kniveton Clare Christian Adrian Duggan Andrew Douglas Alan Crowe Charles Cain Robert Quayle Richard Radcliffe	Edmund Lowey Ray Kniveton Clare Christian Alan Crowe
1993	Scheduled	Ian Anderson Edmund Lowey Arthur Luft Brian Barton	Brian Barton - 15 votes Norman Butler - 7 votes Clare Christian - 17 votes J A S Christian - 8 votes Edmund Lowey - 14 votes Arthur Luft - 16 votes Charles Cain - 6 votes R Rawcliffe - 5 votes R B M Quayle - 8 votes	Edmund Lowey Arthur Luft Clare Christian Brian Barton
1919	Constitutional reform	Cyril Hughes-Games (Vicar General) John Cowell (Receiver General) Venerable J. Kewley (Archdeacon)	Joseph Qualtrough Joseph Cunningham John Kerruish William Southward ?	Joseph Qualtrough (Keys electee) Joseph Cunningham (Keys electee) John Kerruish (Keys electee) William Southward (Keys electee) George Drinkwater (Governor's appointee) Richard Quirk (Governor's appointee)

Coordinates: 54°09′03″N 4°28′56″W / 54.15083°N 4.48222°W