A consultation into removing the Bishop’s vote from Tynwald and the Legislative Council, whilst retaining his membership, has been launched today (January 4).
It comes as Lawrie Hooper’s Private Members Bill passed its third reading in the House of Keys last month.
The consultation will run for eight weeks from today to February 29 and seeks public opinion on the matter, to inform the drafting of the bill.
Mr Hooper, said of the bill: ‘In a democracy like the Isle of Man the Members of Tynwald are ultimately accountable to the Manx public.’
Mr Hooper added: ‘There are two Members of Legislative Council who are not accountable to the Manx Public either directly or indirectly, the Attorney General and the Bishop of Sodor and Man.
‘Both have the right to speak and contribute to debate, but the Attorney General cannot vote. The Bishop can vote in Tynwald and the Legislative Council.
‘They can directly affect policy and law that affects every single person on the Island and yet they are not accountable to the Manx public whom they have this power over.
‘The Bishop of Sodor and Man is appointed by the King, on the advice of the UK Prime Minister. Bizarrely this means the people of the UK (or more specifically the membership of whichever Party is in Number 10 at the time) get more of a say over who is appointed to this post in Tynwald than the people of the island.
‘The Manx public have no method of choosing or replacing the Bishop, other than whatever influence the Church may choose to give from time to time. This is fundamentally not a democratic part of our Parliament and one this Private Members Bill seeks to resolve. It is my hope that this small change will carry on the journey of improving and strengthening democratic accountability in the island.’
Last month, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, wrote to Chief Minister, Alfred Cannan, on the matter.
In his letter, he expressed his concerns, and said that such a change should not happen without wider public consultation.
He offered to facilitate a consultation on the matter.
The former Bishop of Sodor and Mann, Right Reverend Peter Eagles, recently retired, with the Church of England currently in the process of appointing a new Bishop. The Crown Nominations Commission will meet this month to progress this.
The consultation can be found on: www.lhooperiom.com/constitutionbill2023 and paper copies can be obtained from the Clerk of Tynwald’s Office for a small printing charge.