The Speaker of the House of Keys, the Hon Steve Rodan SHK, has written an article in the latest edition of The Parliamentarian in which he examines 150 years of electoral reform in the Isle of Man.

In his article Mr Speaker alerts readers to ‘two significant milestones’ in the history of Tynwald: the Revestment Act of 1765 he describes as ‘a low point in the story of the Isle of Man’s development as an autonomous nation’ and the House of Keys Election Act of 1866 as ‘the moment where the Island took its first steps towards being a truly representative parliamentary democracy’.

Developments since 1866 lead Mr Speaker to close his article by observing that ‘the House of Keys can look forward with confidence to the next 150 years.’

Mr Speaker explained: ‘The Isle of Man has a unique story to tell, not least how representative democracy became part of our ancient parliamentary system. With the 150th anniversary of the first popular elections coming upon us soon, and our political pioneering of votes for women, and for 16-year-olds, it is time the wider world was told about it. Hence the article in the Parliamentarian which has a very wide circulation in Commonwealth countries, especially among Members of Parliament. I certainly hope it will make those who are ignorant about these things better informed.’

The Parliamentarian is a quarterly journal featuring articles and analyses of parliamentary, political and constitutional developments produced by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Secretariat and distributed to some 17,000 Members of Parliament, parliamentary staff and individual subscribers across the Commonwealth and international organisations.

Mr Speaker’s article in The Parliamentarian can be viewed on the CPA website, www.cpahq.org or go direct to:
http://www.cpahq.org/cpahq/Main/Our_services/Publications/CPA_Publications/The_Parliamentarian/Latest_Issue/Main/Publications/The_Parliamentarian/Current%20Issue.aspx?hkey=7c22a05d-39c5-4d67-9eda-782e444212b8.

Photo - Steve Rodan by Michael Thompson.