Boundary Review Committee 2011

In accordance with a Tynwald resolution in July 2010, a Boundary Review Committee has been established under Section 11 (5) of the Representation of the People Act 1995.

Population changes over the years have contributed to a change in the number of voters in electoral constituencies in the Isle of Man. Consequently, the Committee is reviewing the number and boundaries of the constituencies for elections to the House of Keys.

The Governor in Council approved the appointment to the Boundary Review Committee 2011 of:

Sally Bolton, Chairman
Terry Groves
Ashton Lewis
Bob Riding

The Committee invited representations from members of the public, in particular comments or views on the following:

Existing boundaries
Possible changes to existing boundaries
Size of constituencies
Number of members per constituency
Number of voters per elected member
Whether population should be the sole guide to constituency size
Any other issues relevant to the Terms of Reference of the Tynwald Resolution as stated in the opening paragraph

Interim Report

The Boundary Review Committee presented an Interim Report to the December 2011 sitting of Tynwald. The following recommendations were agreed:

Tynwald accepts the principle of equality of representation so that all constituencies each return an equal number of Member(s) to the House of Keys
Tynwald accepts the principle of equivalency across the constituencies, confirms that the allowance figure for variance should be no greater than 15%, and agrees that the relevant calculations should be based upon population numbers in each constituency
Tynwald accepts the principle of seeking to achieve 95% of the population qualified to vote being so registered and that proposals be submitted to attain this aim
Tynwald accepts the principle of regular review of the number and boundaries of the constituencies and agrees to the establishment, by the Governor in Council, of a permanent independent electoral committee or commission following each second general election anniversary. Such body must report to Tynwald no later than eighteen months after its appointment but be given powers to report more frequently to Tynwald if specifically required
Tynwald hereby directs the Boundary Review Committee to complete its report in accordance with these approved principles and to report back no later than the December 2012 sitting of Tynwald Tynwald hereby directs the Boundary Review Committee to complete its report in accordance with these approved principles and to report back no later than the December 2012 sitting of Tynwald

The Interim Report can be viewed here or by clicking on the pdf document below.

How should Keys constituencies be changed to achieve equality amongst voters?

THE Boundary Review Committee is seeking views on how House of Keys constituencies could be redrawn to reduce inequalities amongst voters, and is to hold public meetings around the Island later this month.

At present some voters have three votes in elections, some have two and some have only one. There is also a great variation in the numbers of voters per MHK. The Committee’s latest consultation follows Tynwald approval in December for its first interim report, which set out the principles for determining future constituency boundaries including Equality of Representation.

To achieve equality, the Committee is asking whether people favour a new structure of 8 constituencies with 3 members each, 6 with 4, 12 with 2, 24 with 1, or 1 all-Island constituency with 24 members. Factors that might be taken into account in considering the issue include: the importance of traditional sheading, parish and local authority boundaries; the geographical size of constituencies; the number of voters per MHK; the borders of villages or other communities; and whether the focus of MHKs should be mainly on national or local issues.

The Committee has already written to MHKs, and is also seeking the views of local authorities, community organisations and young people. Public meetings are planned to take place at 7pm on the following dates:

Promenade Methodist Church Hall, Douglas, Tuesday 17th April
Sulby Community Hall, Wednesday 18th April
Arbory Parish Hall, Ballabeg, Thursday 19th April
St Johns Methodist Church Hall, Monday 23rd April

Members of the Boundary Review Committee are: Sally Bolton, Chairman; Terry Groves; Ashton Lewis; and Bob Riding. More information on the Boundary Review Committee can be found here

Statistics from the 2011 House of Keys election

In last year’s House of Keys general election 23% of the electorate, the 14,000 who live in the constituencies of Rushen and Onchan, had three votes each. But 22,000 (37%) had only one vote each, in Ayre, Castletown, Garff, Glenfaba, Michael, Peel, Malew and Santon, and Middle.

Around 23,000 or 40% had two votes each, in the four Douglas constituencies and Ramsey. The Island’s mixture of three, two and one-seat constituencies means that an individual’s share of political influence, as a voter and a constituent, varies greatly depending on where they live.

An elector in Onchan has three votes and is represented by three of the 24 Members of the House of Keys, while an elector in neighbouring Garff has one vote and one MHK. A resident of Rushen has three times the voting power of a person living in the adjacent constituency of Castletown.

The system has long attracted criticism that it breaches the fundamental democratic principle of ‘one person, one vote’.

Previous reviews, including the Butler Commission of 1980, have recommended that in the interests of political equality the deviation from the average in terms of numbers of voters per MHK should be no more than 15%.

Based on 2010/11 figures the average number of voters per House of Keys seat is 2,548. However, in Middle there are 3,794 voters per seat – 48.9% more than the average. In Peel the number of voters per seat is 40.1% higher than the average, and in Garff it is 30.7% above the average.

On the other side of the equation the constituency with the fewest voters per MHK is Glenfaba, with 1,880 voters per seat – half the number of Middle and 26.2% below the average. Douglas East is 23.6% below the average and Douglas West is 21.4% below.

The issues of what it called ‘Democratic Values’ were raised as concerns by the Island’s last Boundary Review Committee which produced an interim report in January 2006. That report stated:

‘The Committee considers that it is desirable, wherever possible, for constituencies to have broadly the same number of voters per member, in the interests of democracy. Some variation is inevitable, and may be desirable in rural constituencies where voter density is less than in urban areas leading to greater distances to be covered by candidates seeking to represent such areas. In this regard variations of up to 15% may be regarded as tolerable. However as great, if not greater importance in maintaining the principle of one man, one vote is the concept of equality of representation. The current amalgam of one, two and three seat constituencies which means that a voter in one constituency is able to cast three votes, whereas a voter in the next constituency is only able to cast one, can be considered a far greater inequality than the current variation in numbers of voters per constituency.’

The current Boundary Review Committee was appointed by the Council of Ministers in December 2010 in line with a Tynwald resolution of July that year to ‘review the number and boundaries of the constituencies for elections to the House of Keys.’

Questionnaire

A questionnaire outlining the various options is accessible via the downloadable documents section below. Please send or email the completed form to: Mrs Ann Craine, Secretary to the Boundary Review Committee, Chief Secretary’s Office, Government Office, Bucks Road, Douglas IM1 3PN by Tuesday 15 May 2012.

Downloadable Documents