ELECTORAL REFORM 150 YEARS OF
“On the day itself there were reports of young people at the doors of Ramsey Town Hall and other polling stations before eight o’clock in the morning, desperate to be not only the first voters through the doors but ‘the youngest voters in the world.’ ”
into account also the changes in the structure of the Island’s executive government which were made in the 1980s and 1990s, the House of Keys has a more dominant role in Manx politics today than at any time in its 900-year history.9
Returning to the matter of electoral reform, the Act of 1919 was not the end of the story. In July 2006 the Island became the first jurisdiction in the British Isles – indeed one of the very few in the democratic world – to extend the right to vote in national elections to 16 and 17 year olds.
For the General Election on 23 November 2006, despite high levels of publicity, of some 2,000 residents of the relevant ages, only 689 joined the electoral register, a disappointing 35.0%. Turnout as a proportion of those who had registered came in at 60.2%, very close to the equivalent figure of 61.2% for the electorate as a whole. To some this was proof of teenage apathy. In mitigation I would argue on the teenagers’ behalf that the change in the law had come at a time when many were breaking up from school for
holidays. Support and assistance to help and encourage them to vote was not fully available until after the summer break. In these circumstances the fact that so many young people were sufficiently motivated to obtain the necessary forms for completion and delivery to the electoral Registrar before the closing date of 18 September 2006 was commendable. On the day itself there were reports of young people at the doors of Ramsey Town Hall and other polling stations before eight o’clock in the morning, desperate to be not only the first voters through the doors but ‘the youngest voters in the world’. Figures published in answer to a Tynwald Written Question in May 2014 showed that by 2011 it was a very different story. Turnout as a proportion of those registered fell slightly, both among 16- and 17-year-olds and among the electorate as a whole. However, on the plus side there was a sharp increase in the percentage registering to vote. Among the general population of voting age this figure rose from 79.5% to 86.9%, a promising recovery after the preceding
collapse from the levels above 90% which had prevailed in 2001 and before. Among 16- to 17-year-olds there was a dramatic rise from 34.4% to 60.1%, progress which has begun to make up for the poor start in 2006.
In 2015 we remember the Revestment Act 1765 (an Act of the UK Parliament) as a low point in the story of the Isle of Man’s development as an autonomous nation. Its 250th anniversary has been marked quietly and thoughtfully, with a historical seminar by the Manx Antiquarian Society and an exhibition at the Tynwald Library. It has scarcely been a cause for celebration.
In 2016, on the other hand, we look forward to what will be very much a celebration as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the House of Keys Election Act 1866 (an Act of Tynwald). That Act was not an end but a beginning. But with the further developments which have taken place in the meantime, the House of Keys can look forward with confidence to the next 150 years.
Above: A House of Keys Election Poll Book of 1881 shows that the first person to vote in the parish of Andreas was a woman, Miss Esther Kee. Image credit: Paul Dougherty, Tynwald Seneschal
The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Dr Jonathan King, Deputy Clerk of Tynwald, in the preparation of this article.
References 1
John Grimson, The Isle of Man: Portrait of a Nation (London: Hale,
2009), page 176 2
C. W. Gawne, The Isle of Man and Britain Controversy 1651-1895: From Smuggling to the Common Purse (Manx Heritage Foundation,
2009), pages 42 to 43 3
4 5 6 7
Women’s Suffrage Journal, quoted in the Isle of Man Examiner,
8
2nd April 1881 9
Grimson (op. cit., page 135) places the origin of the Keys in Godred Crovan’s time, i.e. the late eleventh century.
The Parliamentarian | 2015: Issue Three | 159
Gawne, op. cit., page 49 Grimson, op. cit., page 183 Cf Gawne, op. cit., page 56 Grimson, op. cit., page 125
Grimson, op. cit., pages 198-199
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