What have your MHKs promised you? Ayre & Michael

The constituency of Ayre & Michael has returned two very different politicians to the House of Keys. Chief Minister Alfred Cannan, the first sitting Chief Minister to defend his constituency seat since Donald Gelling in 2001, retains his position at the top of government. Joining him is political newcomer Stephen Broad, a businessman and former Special Constable who topped the poll.

Below is a summary of where both men stand on the major issues facing the island, drawn from their manifestos and statements during the election campaign.

Housing

Mr Cannan's flagship housing policy is the creation of a dedicated, arm's-length Housing Association based on Jersey's Andium Homes model. This body would unify public housing stock and management, integrating the Manx Development Corporation into a single professional delivery organisation to replace the fragmented DOI Housing Agency.

In addition, Mr Cannan supports a government-backed zero-deposit mortgage and guarantor scheme for first-time buyers, an accessible Rent-to-Buy programme, and the index-linking of first-time buyer scheme thresholds to wages and house prices. He also wants to continue the Island Infrastructure Scheme to encourage brownfield redevelopment.

Mr Cannan has acknowledged that the pace of house building, currently around 200 homes per year, has been "disappointingly slow" and has admitted that a previous attempt to establish a housing association failed to gain sufficient political support.

Mr Broad's approach to housing focuses on deregulation and making better use of existing property stock. He wants a simple, non-bureaucratic route for converting empty commercial buildings in towns and villages into homes, arguing this would stimulate construction and expand access to affordable housing.

He also supports reviving the Petition on Permitted Development that was presented to Tynwald in July 2026.

Mr Broad links housing to immigration policy and argues that the 2001 Residence Act should be implemented to regulate who can buy and rent property on the island. He believes this would help prevent English companies purchasing Manx properties for rental purposes at the expense of young local people, although he presents the Residence Act primarily as an immigration and population-control measure rather than a housing policy.

Energy

Mr Cannan has said he has heard clearly from constituents that they are not opposed to renewable energy itself, but that they do not believe the benefits for the Isle of Man have been properly demonstrated. He agrees with that assessment.

Mr Cannan believes any offshore wind farm proposal should be studied carefully. Even if planning approval is granted, he argues serious questions remain around financial returns, the cost of directing power to the island, infrastructure investment, decommissioning liabilities and environmental impacts. He has also stated that if the Orsted project proceeds, he would oppose any further consideration of onshore wind turbines at Earystane. Alongside this, he supports solar generation for both the national grid and private properties, backs public-private energy partnerships where they can reduce prices, supports continued scrutiny of a second interconnector, and wants a clear assessment of the costs involved in upgrading the electricity grid and improving home insulation.

Mr Broad has adopted a firm position against both the Mooir Vannin offshore wind farm and the Cair Vie onshore wind farm.

He says opposition among constituents is one reason for his stance, while the economics of the projects form the second. He questions whether the power station built by the MEA more than twenty years ago has been fully paid for and argues that the infrastructure needed for large-scale onshore wind development would be extensive, expensive to import and costly to maintain.

However, Mr Broad is not opposed to renewable energy in principle. He supports tidal stream technology, solar power and appropriately located small-scale wind projects. He also argues that public consultation must come first, with clear remits and boundaries established before contracts are awarded.

Government Reform

Government reform is the centrepiece of Mr Cannan's manifesto. He proposes a Government Reform Act that would fundamentally restructure the Isle of Man Government.

Under his plans, policy-making would be separated from operational delivery, with all policy development centralised within a core Policy Unit while departments concentrate on delivering services such as healthcare, education and infrastructure. He also wants to strengthen the Operational Performance Board, allowing it to audit government structures, reduce management layers, impose efficiency targets and place underperforming bodies into special measures. His proposals include statutory limits on the number of chief officers and management hierarchy positions within departments, formal oversight arrangements for arm's-length bodies and regulators, and potential reforms covering referendums, ministerial government and Treasury control over severance payments.

Mr Cannan has admitted previous reform efforts failed because ministers operating in departmental silos did not deliver the required changes. He now believes legislation is necessary to force reform. He has also pledged to publish quarterly staffing reports and annual departmental business plans.

Mr Broad argues that the Executive has become too powerful and that collective responsibility allows the Council of Ministers and departmental members to push legislation through the House of Keys without sufficient scrutiny.

His proposals include reducing the influence of the block vote so that a majority of elected representatives must support legislation. He also wants to explore giving the Chief Minister greater authority to restrain the Council of Ministers, including the possibility of a veto power or the ability to trigger referendums on contentious issues, although he presents these as ideas for consideration rather than firm commitments. In addition, Mr Broad wants an independent review of government operations by external experts, believing meaningful reform cannot be delivered from within the system itself. He also supports directly elected Members of the Legislative Council with a clearly defined scrutiny function separate from policy-making.

Mr Broad further advocates revisiting Sir Miles Walker's 2006 report on the structure and scope of government, which warned that the size of government could eventually exceed the economy's capacity to sustain it.

The Economy

Mr Cannan's economic platform is built around fiscal discipline and diversified growth.

He has highlighted a £50 million gap in the government's finances and argues that every department should prepare fully costed scenarios showing how spending could be reduced by 5% and 10%. He opposes raising personal taxation unless absolutely necessary and supports increasing the personal tax-free allowance.

Mr Cannan also wants to restructure the Finance and Digital Agencies into a public-private partnership similar to Jersey Finance, with clear growth targets across banking, insurance, wealth management, corporate services and digital commerce. He supports reviewing the Financial Supervision Authority to improve efficiency and introduce a secondary competitiveness mandate. Other proposals include renewing focus on engineering and manufacturing, enhancing the Skills Board's role in workforce planning, expanding apprenticeships in trades such as plumbing and construction, transforming Visit Isle of Man into an independent board with measurable objectives, independently reviewing the Steam Packet's financial model, and maintaining an open-skies policy while ensuring government intervention delivers value for money. He has also proposed a Food Security and Local Agriculture Act that would encourage public sector organisations to procure local produce and seek agreed targets for stocking Manx products in supermarkets.

Mr Broad's economic philosophy is that wealth is generated by the private sector rather than government. He argues that an expanding bureaucracy is holding back enterprise and economic growth.

His priorities include halting the growth of government, reducing bureaucracy and questioning the need for multiple chief officers across departments. He supports light-touch regulation and low taxation to attract investment, arguing that excessive regulation has damaged sectors such as e-gaming and contributed to the decline of banking services in the north of the island. Mr Broad also wants the island to focus on niche strengths such as data trusts rather than spreading resources too thinly, while giving local businesses greater freedom to grow and prosper.

He has also linked economic reform to planning reform, arguing that the current system is obstructing development. As a result, he supports reviving the Petition on Permitted Development and simplifying the process of converting commercial premises into residential properties.

Education

Mr Cannan points to the introduction of an independent quality assurance system for schools as one of the achievements of the last administration and wants to build on that progress.

His plans include giving teachers, head teachers and governors greater operational autonomy, supporting University College Isle of Man in expanding technical and vocational education, and strengthening lifelong learning through collaboration with the Skills Board. He also wants to continue Junior Achievement programmes, reintroduce work experience opportunities, review regulations affecting part-time employment for young people, address concerns about children entering school without basic behavioural and developmental skills, review Special Educational Needs provision, and support a First 1000 Days policy to help parents give children the best possible start in life. This could include legislation focused on parental support, limiting excessive screen use among young children, and encouraging language development and play.

Mr Broad's manifesto did not contain a detailed education policy. However, during the campaign he referred to his experience supporting vulnerable young people between 2013 and 2019 who he believes were failed by the Manx education system. He has also spoken about the importance of electing what he describes as "decent people" with common sense to both the House of Keys and the Legislative Council.

His emphasis on vocational training and apprenticeships aligns closely with his wider economic agenda of developing a skilled local workforce, although he does not present these proposals specifically as education policy.