House of Keys

Last updated

House of Keys

Yn Kiare as Feed
House of Keys Seal .jpg
Type
Type
Leadership
Juan Watterson [1]
since 27 September 2016
Structure
Seats24
2021 Isle of Man House of Keys Composition.svg
Political groups
Speaker (1)
  •   Independent (1)

Council of Ministers (9)

Others (14)

Elections
Multiple non-transferable vote
Last election
23 September 2021
Next election
September 2026
Meeting place
The Wedding Cake - geograph.org.uk - 566474.jpg
Chamber of the House of Keys, Legislative Buildings, Douglas
Website
www.tynwald.org.im/about/hok

The House of Keys (Manx : Yn Kiare as Feed) is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council.

Contents

History

The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in Latin by an English scholar, which refers to Claves Mann (the 'Keys of Mann') and Claves Legis (the 'Keys of Law'). There is a dispute, however, over the origin of the name. The word keys is thought by some to be an English corruption of a form of the Norse verb kjósa ('to choose'). However, a more likely explanation is that it is a mishearing of the Manx-language term for 'four and twenty': kiare as feed [ˈkʲiːəsˈfid] , the House having always had 24 members. The Manx-language name of the House remains Yn Kiare as Feed ('The Four and Twenty').

Governance

Members are known as Members of the House of Keys (MHKs). Citizens over the age of 16 may vote, while one must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the island for three years to be elected an MHK. There are 12 constituencies, mainly based on the sheadings and on local government units. (A few local government units are split between two constituencies.) Each sends two members to the House of Keys, elected by plurality voting (each elector can vote for up to two candidates). The term of the House of Keys is normally fixed at five years, but provisions exist for dissolution before the expiration of the term.

The Speaker of the House of Keys (SHK) is an MHK elected by the Keys as the presiding officer. The Speaker votes in the House of Keys, but, unlike other members, may abstain; however, when the vote is tied the Speaker must cast the deciding vote. The Speaker also acts as Deputy President of Tynwald Court.

The House of Keys elects 8 of the 11 members of the Legislative Council. Legislation does not usually originate in the council. (There are exceptions: for example the Equality Bill was introduced in the Legislative Council in late 2016.) Thus, the Keys have much more power than the council, which performs the function of a revising chamber.

The House of Keys meets about once each month together with the Legislative Council in a joint session called Tynwald Court. During the COVID pandemic, these meetings were more frequent. The President of Tynwald, elected by both branches, presides over Tynwald Court and over the Legislative Council. Once each year, however, on Tynwald Day, the Isle of Man's national day, the Lieutenant Governor (or a member of the Royal Family) presides.

Meeting place

The House of Keys usually meets in their chamber in the Legislative Buildings in Douglas. Seating is allocated in alphabetical order by constituency name (in English) and organised into two rows. Members who received the highest number of votes in their constituency sit in the front row. On 14 March 2017 the Keys met in the Old House of Keys in Castletown, for the first time since 1874, to commemorate the sesquicentenary of the first elected House of Keys. During the COVID pandemic, these meetings were sometimes held remotely (or partly remotely).

Elections

Membership

ConstituencyMHKs [2]
Arbory, Castletown & Malew Jason Moorhouse
Tim Glover
Ayre & Michael Alfred Cannan
Tim Johnston
Douglas Central Anne Corlett
Chris Thomas
Douglas East Joney Faragher
Clare Barber
Douglas North David Ashford
John Wannenburgh
Douglas South Claire Christian
Sarah Maltby
Garff Daphne Caine
Andrew Smith
Glenfaba & Peel Kate Lord-Brennan
Tim Crookall
Middle Jane Poole-Wilson
Stu Peters
Onchan Julie Edge
Rob Callister
Ramsey Alex Allinson
Lawrie Hooper
Rushen Juan Watterson
Michelle Haywood

Related Research Articles

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The government of the Isle of Man is a parliamentary representative democracy. The Monarch of the United Kingdom is also the head of state of the Isle of Man, and generally referred to as "The King, Lord of Mann". Legislation of the Isle of Man defines "the Crown in right of the Isle of Man" as separate from the "Crown in right of the United Kingdom". His representative on the island is the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, but his role is mostly ceremonial, though he does have the power to grant Royal Assent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tynwald</span> Legislature of the Isle of Man

Tynwald, or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of Keys and the indirectly chosen Legislative Council. When the two chambers sit together, they become "Tynwald Court".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legislative Council of the Isle of Man</span> Upper house of the parliament of the Isle of Man

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tynwald Day</span> National day of the Isle of Man

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manx Labour Party</span> Political party on the Isle of Man

The Manx Labour Party is a political party on the Isle of Man that was founded in 1918.

The Isle of Man partially elects its legislature at the national level. The High Court of Tynwald consists of two chambers. The House of Keys has 24 members, elected in a general election for a five-year term in 12 two-seat constituencies. Each voter has two votes and in each constituency the two candidates with the most votes are elected. The Legislative Council has 11 members: three ex-officio members and eight other members who are elected by the House of Keys for a five-year term. Political parties do not play an important role on the Island. The Isle of Man lowered its voting age from 18 to 16 in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Ministers of the Isle of Man</span> Executive body of the Isle of Man Government

The Council of Ministers is the principal executive organ of the Isle of Man Government. Its role is similar to, though not identical with, that of the Cabinet in the United Kingdom. Until 1990, its title was the Executive Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Tynwald</span> Presiding officer of Isle of Man parliament

The President of Tynwald is the presiding officer at the sittings of Tynwald Court in Douglas and is elected by the members of Tynwald from amongst their number. The first elected president, Charles Kerruish, was elected in 1990 and held office until his retirement in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speaker of the House of Keys</span> Presiding officer of lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man

The Speaker of the House of Keys is the principal officer of the House of Keys, the lower house of the Isle of Man legislature. The Speaker is elected from the membership of the House at its first sitting after an election. He is responsible for controlling the procedure of the House and for the authoritative interpretation of its standing orders. He sets the business of the House and authorises the order of business of the House for each sitting. The Speaker uses the letters SHK after his name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Man Government</span> Government of the Isle of Man

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Stephen Charles Rodan MLC is a Manx politician who served as the President of Tynwald from 2016 to 2021 and is a former Minister of the Isle of Man Government and former MHK for the constituency of Garff. He was first elected to the seat in a by-election in 1995.

Peter Karran is a Manx politician, who is a former leader of the Liberal Vannin Party and former Minister of Education and Children. He was a Member of the House of Keys for Middle, and then for Onchan, from 1985 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Watterson</span> Manx politician (born 1980)

Juan Paul Watterson FCA CMgr FCMI FRSA SHK is a Manx politician, who is Speaker of the House of Keys, and a member for Rushen, in the Isle of Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Davidson Qualtrough</span>

Sir Joseph Davidson Qualtrough CBE JP SHK was Speaker of the House of Keys from 1937 to 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Skelly</span> Manx politician

Laurence David Skelly MLC is a Manx politician, who has served as President of Tynwald since July 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Cannan</span> Manx politician (born 1968)

Alfred Louis Cannan MHK is a Manx politician and independent Member of the House of Keys for Ayre & Michael. He has served as the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man since the 12th of October 2021. He was previously the Minister for the Treasury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Quayle</span> Manx politician

Robert Howard Quayle is the former chief minister for the Isle of Man, between 4 October 2016 and 12 October 2021. He previously served as the minister for Health and Social Care, until the elections in September 2016.

Jane Pearl Poole-Wilson, MHK is a Manx politician and solicitor. She was elected to the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man in 2017 to fill a casual vacancy and was re-elected for a full five-year term in 2018. However she was elected to the House of Keys for the constituency of Middle in the 2021 Manx general election and thus forfeited her seat on the Legislative Council. She was immediately appointed by new Chief Minister Alfred Cannan as Minister for Justice and Home Affairs. She was also appointed as Deputy Chief Minister.

Daphne Hilary Penelope Caine is an English-born Manx politician and former civil servant. She was elected to the House of Keys representing Garff in 2016 and re-elected for the same constituency in 2021. Following the 2021 election, she was elected as Deputy Speaker of the House of Keys. She previously worked on the Isle of Man as a journalist and civil servant.

William 'Bill' Shimmins is a Scottish-born Manx politician. He represented the constituency of Middle in the House of Keys until 2021, having been first elected in 2016.

References

  1. "Tynwald – Parliament of the Isle of Man – WATTERSON Juan Paul, BA FCA CMGR FCMI FRSA SHK". Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  2. "ELECTION RESULTS – Manx Radio".

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