ELECTORAL REFORM 150 YEARS OF
determined at Westminster, not in Tynwald.4
The cry of ‘no
taxation without representation’, made famous in North America in the same period, could have gone up with equal justification in the Isle of Man.5
But although
the Isle of Man was not a colony but a separate kingdom with its own ancient parliament, it was to be 100 years before the Island began to regain control of its own financial destiny. If 1765 was a low point, 1866 was a turning point. In the middle of the 19th
century the
Manx economy was doing well. Shipbuilding was booming. The age of tourism had begun, with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company bringing 50,000 visitors each year.6
Mining was a
major industry, as today’s visitors are reminded by the Laxey Wheel, constructed in 1854 and now the world’s largest working water wheel.
On the constitutional front, on the other hand, the Island was in a sorry state. As noted above, significant powers over the Island’s revenues had been taken by the UK parliament. The Manx parliament, Tynwald, remained in existence but with a diminished role. Its lower branch, the House of Keys, was self-elected. Upon the death of a Member, a replacement was selected by the Governor from two nominees proposed by the remaining Members. Economic prosperity brought with it demands for improvements to the Island’s infrastructure and in particular to the port of Douglas which would soon become the Island’s capital. However, funding for the Island’s ports and harbours remained in the grip of the UK authorities. The Governor appointed in 1863, Henry Loch, realised that if the necessary
harbour works were to proceed, the Manx government would need to gain control of raising and allocating the necessary funds. He also saw that there was no chance of achieving that control so long as the Keys remained self-elected.7 In 1865 Loch submitted proposals to the UK Treasury that the Island’s government be granted greater powers subject to the Keys becoming an elected body. After protracted negotiations a deal was reached. On 18 May 1866 the UK Parliament passed the Isle of Man Customs, Harbours and Public Purposes Act, by which Her Majesty’s Customs would set aside an increased proportion of the Manx customs revenues to fund such works as Tynwald might determine. On 16 August 1866 Tynwald passed the House of Keys Election Act and the first election was held on 18 March 1867. Voting in 1867 was not
Above: The Laxey Wheel, built in 1854, towers over the village of Laxey in Speaker Steve Rodan’s parliamentary constituency. Image credit: Paul Dougherty, Tynwald Seneschal
universal. The franchise was restricted to males owning real estate worth at least £8, or tenants paying a rent of at least £12 per year. To that extent the reforms of 1866 did not put in place a truly representative democracy. But that year stands out in Manx history as the year when the principle of popular election to the House of Keys was established.
Over the ensuing 140 years the method of elections to the House of Keys went through a series of further changes. Perhaps the most celebrated of these was the granting of votes to women in 1881, a generation before the equivalent
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