A Tynwald standing committee’s report on the island’s constitution suggests a better term than Crown Dependency should be adopted.

The committee says the word ‘dependency’ does not clearly reflect the constitutional status of the Isle of Man.

It recommends that Tynwald calls on the Manx government to engage in discussion with the public and with the governments of the Channel Islands and the UK with the aim of finding a better term.

Speaker Juan Watterson told the Constitutional and Legal Affairs and Justice Committee: ‘It is perhaps time to review the “Dependency” epithet. We are after all, not dependent on the UK.

‘Whether we consider ourselves part of a network of “Crown Kingdoms” alongside the Channel Islands and possibly Scotland, or choose some other label, I think the time for change has come.’ Jersey politician Sir Philip Bailhache has suggested the term 'Crown Dependency' should be replaced with 'Crown Territory'.

He said: ‘I think dependency is quite the wrong term because, for all practical purposes, we are not dependent upon the UK.

‘I think the three Crown Dependencies should join together and say we do not want to be called dependencies anymore. We ought to be called Crown Territories.’

Guernsey deputy Gavin St Pier from Guernsey said there is a good case for using the term ‘dominions’.

He told the committee: ‘I think “dependencies” does suggest implicitly a level of relationship where one party is dependent on the other and self-evidently we never have been. It is unfortunate.

‘I personally think that the simplest evolution of it would be to turn it into “Crown Dominions” so that we could still stick with “CDs”. I can't imagine, to be honest, why anybody would object.’

Fellow Guernsey deputy Jonathan Le Tocq offered a different solution, suggesting the term “Dependencies of the Crown” as it put the emphasis on the Crown rather than the UK Government. The report concludes: ‘In summary, having taken evidence from elected representatives in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, we have so far encountered no-one who is particularly attached to the term “Crown Dependency”.

‘Four alternatives have been suggested to us: “Dependency of the Crown”, “Crown Dominion”, “Crown Territory” and “Crown Kingdom”. We do not propose at this stage to select our preferred term but we do believe that the matter should be further discussed.’ The committee’s report is due to be debated at the May sitting of Tynwald.

Among its other recommendations is that the island should deploy a permanent representative to Westminster who is accountable to the democratically elected Manx government and that the Council of Ministers should investigate how this could be put into practice.

It suggests expertise and resources could be shared with Jersey and Guernsey.

The committee also recommends that legislation made by Westminster should not be extended to the Isle of Man without the consent of Tynwald.

It also suggests a review should be carried out of the Lieutenant Governor’s non-statutory powers and consideration given to which of these ought to be transferred to the CoMin or elsewhere.

The committee had previously considered the implications of the island going down the route of full independence, as part of its wider inquiry into the constitution.

Independence was last debated by Tynwald in 2000 following a CoMin committee report which concluded the time was not right and the option should be reconsidered if changed circumstances warranted it.

The standing committee noted that the constitution of the island’s relationship with the UK and the rest of the world has not been the subject of a thorough debate in nearly a quarter of a century.