Manx Labour Party leader David Cretney, himself an MLC and a former government minister, hit out after reports emerged that Chief Minister Howard Quayle had called in the five MLCs elected earlier this year for a stern talking to - apparently because one or more MHKs decided the new intake had become too big for its boots.
’What I would like to know is who the gutless wonders were who felt they couldn’t say what they needed to without dragging in the chief minister?’ Mr Cretney said.
Mr Cretney - an MHK from 1985-2015 and an MLC since then - said he feared a ’pattern’ was emerging.
In a statement on Facebook, Mr Cretney added: ’There seems to be a resistance from within some sections of government towards the establishment of select committees to help in the scrutiny and development of policy issues.
’My view is that the chief minister and his team should welcome parliamentary input rather than what seems to be the case that they must be responsible for carrying out everything.’
He continued: ’The comments about MLCs being involved in policy don’t stand scrutiny either. An upper chamber has every right to point out when the Keys haven’t got things right, while recognising that ultimately the directly elected branch dominates.
’If we had adopted this line in the past we would not have a minimum wage or the important review of public sector pension provision amongst others both of which came from the Legislative Council.’
Other observers have pointed out that it should be a matter for the President of Tynwald Steve Rodan to deal with, rather than the chief minister, if people thought MLCs were not performing their parliamentary role properly.
There is growing tension between the two chambers. In the run-up to the Legislative Council elections earlier this year, the message from some MHKs to candidates appeared to be that they should steer clear of matters of policy and do as they were told by the elected chamber.
In Legislative Council last week, when the Abortion Reform Bill received its first reading - Bill Henderson made clear his displeasure at pressure from MHKs.
He referred to ’one or two Members of the House of Keys’ talking about the need for the upper chamber to pass the bill in quick fashion. He insisted the Legislative Council would not unnecessarily delay, and that it knew the will of the House of Keys, but also that it would carry out proper scrutiny.
There has been no formal response from Chief Minister Howard Quayle to reports of the meeting while the MLCs involved have been wary of saying anything on the record, but it is understood his intervention came after at least one MHK complained about the new MLCs straying beyond their remit.
Mr Quayle talked to the five MLCs to discuss the matter and their responsibilities and to remind MLCs the role of the Legislative Council was primarily to scrutinise legislation rather than get too involved in other, more operational matters.
Earlier this year, four new MLCs were elected - Marlene Hendy, Tanya August Hanson, Kate Lord-Brennan and Kerry Sharpe - while Jane Poole-Wilson was re-elected, having served a short-term following the resignation of Tony Wild in 2017.
MLCs are ’elected’ by the House of Keys, with no direct public involvement, whereas MHKs are elected by the public. Half of the 24 MHKs have only been in office since the general election in September 2016.