The Isle of Man Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) hosted a dinner on March 7th ahead of Commonwealth Day on March 10th at which the Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Bruce MP was guest speaker, at the invitation of the Speaker of the House of Keys, the Hon Steve Rodan SHK.
Sir Malcolm, who has represented the constituency of Gordon since 1983, was appointed deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in January 2014 and is President of the Scottish Party. He is also chairman of the House of Commons International Development Committee, the work of which he took as his theme when he addressed present and former CPA members in the Legislative Buildings’ Barool Suite.
Earlier in the day Sir Malcolm had met with members of the Isle of Man International Development Committee, which led him to comment on the Island’s successful role as ‘a niche player’ in its support of small developing countries and the valuable contribution the Isle of Man was making to the CPA at a time when the Commonwealth was faced with growing challenges. The Commonwealth, he said, was ‘still relevant’ and had an important role to play globally, particularly in equipping people of less developed nations with life skills and working towards creating ‘a less unequal world’ that would ‘turn hopelessness into hopefulness.’
CPA Isle of Man branch chairman Hon Juan Watterson MHK said: ‘Sir Malcolm’s tireless work on development issues, his insight into the world’s poorer nations and the respect he commands at the highest level internationally made for a most absorbing speech. The sentiments he expressed resonated strongly with the Commonwealth’s work to change lives in this year of “Team Commonwealth” which focuses on the power of collaborative working and also with the CPA’s commitment to parliamentary capacity building and fostering wider co-operation. We were delighted to welcome Sir Malcolm and Lady Bruce to the Island and look forward to further opportunities for discussing matters of mutual interest.’
Photo - Sir Malcolm and Lady Bruce are pictured with the President of Tynwald the Hon Clare Christian and Speaker of the House of Keys the Hon Steve Rodan SHK. (Photo: Paul Dougherty, Tynwald Seneschal).
