In the next in our series of blogs exploring Legislative Council Reform, we're looking at the abolition and adoption of a single chamber Tynwald.
TL;DR;
Abolition would create one chamber of Tynwald which would be responsible for all Tynwald functions, including scrutiny of legislation.
This could be done in a number of ways either by the creation of Policy Committees which would look at bills they are responsible for or by the whole of the Keys providing scrutiny as the bill passed through Tynwald.
There is a general shift towards single chamber parliaments globally and some countries with smaller parliaments than the Isle of Man operate as single chamber systems. Has been suggested previously in the Isle of Man.
Supporters of this argue that it creates a simpler, quicker process, can save money, ensures that only people elected by the public have input into laws and can strengthen committees.
Opponents say that is creates an incredibly strong single chamber which can rush through bills if a Government has a large majority, may reduce the quality of scrutiny and overload politicians.
Versions of this system are used in Wales, the Faroe Islands, Scotland, Jersey and Gibraltar.
The seemingly simplest way to resolve the issue of LegCo would be to get rid of it. Parliaments with only one chamber a pretty common, with many countries and territories moving to a ‘unicameral’ system in the 20th century on the basis of many of the same arguments which are put forward for the abolition of our legislative council.
The Lisvane Review, itself was a product of that very suggestion, put forward by Chris Thomas in 2015, advocating for a unicameral Tynwald and a referendum to establish it. A Select Committee from 2003 also presented it as an option for reform stating that, “this model is a serious option that has much to commend it and could be made to work in the Manx context”.
A unicameral system, like those seen in Jersey, Guernsey, Wales, Gibraltar, the Faroes, Greenland, Iceland, Malta, Sweden, Norway and Scotland, would see one, most likely, elected chamber perform the functions which our 2 ½ currently serve. The current scrutiny roles of the legislative council would be transferred to a single chamber. It is important to note that many similar-sized nations to the Isle of Man have unicameral chambers.
In Scotland and the Faroe Islands, for example, scrutiny is undertaken by a number of committees with a specific policy focus at an early stage. Once a bill is presented to parliament it is reviewed and scrutinised by a committee (e.g. Rural Affairs, Finance, Constitution) which produces a report and recommends whether the bill should progress. At present, Tynwald does operate a policy review system however the remit of these committees is clearly limited to scrutinising legislation which has already been passed.
In other systems, such as Malta and Jersey this process is generally undertaken by a committee of the whole. Through which all members of parliament scrutinise the legislation as it progresses through the chamber and is in some ways similar to our own system, through which any member of Tynwald may suggest comments, amendments or scrutinise the bill.
Proponents of unicameralism highlight its simplicity and the speed through which legislation can be moved by removing the potential for deadlock or ping-ponging between chambers as well as the increased role which backbenchers and committee chairs can play in scrutinising legislation whilst still holding a democratic mandate. Others see it as a great way to reduce the costs associated with running a second chamber even if the overall number of members of parliament remains consistent.
“There are great strengths in a system where two Chambers discharge Parliamentary functions, but each in different ways, taking advantage of distinct characteristics in a complementary, and not competitive, relationship”.
By contrast supporters of the dual chamber model, such as Lisvane, hold the reverse to be true. In his 2016 report, he stated that “There are great strengths in a system where two Chambers discharge Parliamentary functions, but each in different ways, taking advantage of distinct characteristics in a complementary, and not competitive, relationship”.
Another challenge of small-state unicameralism is the limited bandwidth of politicians. Whilst many often call for a shrinking of the size of Tynwald, the reality and complexity of delivering an executive, providing technical legislative scrutiny and representation of the public from a pool of 24, may lead to questions of the quality of the scrutiny they can provide - subtract the council of Ministers and Departmental Members and the pool shrinks further. This issue has been seen in both Scotland and Wales, where backbench members of both Parliaments sit on multiple committees (up to 5 in some cases) and issues arising from this has led to plans to increase the size of the Welsh Seanedd.
It should also be noted that the absence of a party support system may compound this issue if it were to be introduced on the Isle of Man, as often party parliamentary researchers support the preparation of questions and briefings. Whilst the Tynwald staff provide fantastic resources for members if a system of pre-legislative scrutiny were to be introduced their time would become even more in demand.
It was noted within the Lisvane report that whilst as a trend parliaments had moved towards unicameralism, some (most notably Kenya) had re-established their second chamber.
It was noted within the Lisvane report that whilst as a trend parliaments had moved towards unicameralism, some (most notably Kenya) had re-established their second chamber. Comparisons between the situation on the Isle of Man and Kenya are hard to establish. Kenya is a much larger, more multicultural country and the role of the Kenyan senate differs from LegCo in a number of ways - primarily focused on county issues.
What is clear is that if abolition is the preferred option, the implications for Manx policymaking will be wide-reaching and without sufficient thought could overburden politicians and reduce the quality of legislation produced by Tynwald.
Questionaire
Would you support the abolition of Legislative Council?
Yes
No
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