What have your MHKs promised you? Douglas North

Sarah Maltby and Claire Christian were re-elected

Douglas South was the only one of the Island's 12 constituencies to re-elect both MHKs this year, as Sarah Maltby and Claire Christian were granted another five years in Keys. 

Mrs Maltby was the second member of the Manx Labour Party to be elected this year and the only sitting MHK to increase their vote count, rising by one to 1,245. 

Ms Christian successfully defended her sat amidst the backdrop of a difficult five years for Manx Care which she, as health and social minister, is responsible for overseeing. 

But what did they promise on the campaign trail and what were their positions on the big topics?

Housing

Mrs Maltby described housing as one of the biggest headaches of the last five years. She supported the Housing and Communities Board and the Objective Assessment of Housing Need as an evidence base, but said the pace of delivery had been far too slow. Her priorities included setting clear and binding targets for affordable and social housing, championing brownfield regeneration first, tasking Treasury to reinvest commuted sums back into affordable housing, completing the Landlord Registration Act to protect renters, introducing higher rates on long-term empty homes, and supporting the Island Infrastructure Scheme to de-risk complex brownfield projects.

Ms Christian acknowledged that more homes had been built but said the island was not meeting people's housing needs. She committed to a fully funded five-year housing programme, resident-first protections for affordable and first-time-buyer homes, stronger measures to discourage speculative non-resident purchases, and making developers deliver affordable housing wherever practical. She also proposed higher rates on long-term empty homes, completing the Landlord Registration Act regulations, and exploring new housing as part of the Spring Valley regeneration in Douglas South.

Energy

Mrs Maltby consistently prioritised environmental impact in her Tynwald votes. She opposed the North and West Area Plan for failing to adequately protect the natural environment. On energy, she remained cautious about large-scale wind turbine farms, citing potential impact on landscapes, biodiversity and local communities, and believed any proposal must undergo rigorous, transparent and independently scrutinised process. She supported exploring alternatives to the second interconnector and wanted a balanced renewable energy strategy putting security, affordability and Manx benefit first.

Ms Christian took a similar cautious line. She wanted a costed 25-year energy roadmap and would only support projects that demonstrably delivered against it. On the proposed Moor Vannin project, she said that on the evidence currently available she did not believe it passed the tests and could not support it in its current form. She supported a national-interest test for major infrastructure schemes and wanted an annual Island Resilience Assessment to Tynwald identifying vulnerabilities in food, energy, water, medicines and critical infrastructure.

Government Reform

This was the centrepiece of Ms Christian's manifesto. Her One Government agenda included moving towards government becoming a single legal entity, devolving centralised Finance, HR, Communications and Government Technology Services back to departments, stripping out bureaucracy, introducing priority-based budgeting, delivering multi-year budgeting, and supporting a statutory whistleblowing framework with independent oversight. She argued the current system created duplication because every department was a single legal entity.

Mrs Maltby approached reform differently, emphasising accountability and transparency. She supported the Select Committee examining the Legislature's role in the Budget process, which led to reforms including stronger scrutiny and multi-year budgeting. She advocated reforming the outdated property rating system based on valuations from the 1960s and 1970s, supported a one-stop digital settlement portal for new arrivals, and wanted better data collection to plan for population changes.

The Economy

Mrs Maltby's economic approach was framed around prosperity that works for everyone. She wanted to support local businesses, strengthen public service delivery, and give young people the confidence to build their future on the island. She identified growth as the key priority for 2026 to 2031, but stressed it must be resilient growth that raised living standards and strengthened public finances. She wanted to improve connectivity to the UK and Ireland, championed Manx produce through the primary school meals programme, and wanted to strengthen the rural economy.

Ms Christian's economic plan focused on skills, business and tax. She wanted to increase the Personal Allowance from £17,000 towards £20,000, raise the tax cap from £220,000 to £250,000, and return the higher rate tax to 20% as finances allowed. She committed to protecting the Triple Lock on State Pensions, proposed a Business Gateway for businesses, wanted to grow the skilled workforce by aligning UCM and apprenticeships with workforce data, and aimed to reduce long-term Incapacity Benefit dependency by 10% by tackling the causes rather than cutting rates.

Education

Mrs Maltby focused on early intervention, inclusion and youth wellbeing. She supported placing effective data sharing on a statutory footing, targeting investment in evidence-based interventions, and the Childcare Inclusion Scheme which helped providers support children with additional needs. She committed to reviewing and amending the Student Awards Regulations, which were subsequently approved by Tynwald, and wanted to annually review the regulations, support UCM in expanding on-island courses, and strengthen pathways for graduates to return home.

Ms Christian framed education around readiness for life and the future. She wanted to set expectations for literacy, numeracy, financial and practical life skills, regularly review the curriculum against future workforce and tech needs, expand apprenticeships in areas of future skills shortages, and support an independent Children's Commissioner to give children a direct voice. She also wanted to identify additional needs earlier and give families clearer pathways between school, health and children's services. She highlighted her record of 45 Manx applicants being offered places to train as nurses in 2025, the highest number since on-island training restarted in 2000.

Steam Packet and Connectivity

Mrs Maltby was vocal on sea services. In 2023, she seconded the motion calling for a strategic review of the Sea Services Agreement, arguing for more affordable fares, fairer freight costs and better protection for essential supplies during disruption. She supported retaining back-up vessel capacity and challenged how strategic transport assets were managed. She wanted to improve connectivity to encourage repeat visits and longer stays, and supported promoting the island as a sustainable destination and supporting off-season events.

Ms Christian also prioritised reliable sea and air links. She wanted to put resident fares, freight costs and reliability at the heart of the next Sea Services Agreement, maintain sufficient back-up vessel capacity, and ensure Douglas Harbour was routinely surveyed, dredged and maintained. She proposed an Island Travel Rewards scheme, wanted a planned preventative programme for roads, pavements and critical transport infrastructure, and wanted to complete the Border Agency and introduce proportionate ID checks for people entering by sea and air.

Local Government

Mrs Maltby worked closely with Douglas City Council and emphasised community-level delivery. She highlighted Hazel Court in Pulrose as an example of what the council could deliver at its best, and said she was confident that with a stronger relationship between the council and Treasury, real progress on Spring Valley could now be delivered. She championed investment in community and sporting facilities, and a key priority remained reinstating the Pulrose Football Club changing rooms. She wanted to improve public transport in Douglas South and supported reforming the outdated property rating system, which she said created clear inequities for Douglas residents.

Ms Christian also emphasised constituency-level delivery. She pointed to Snaefell Surgery as a key example of constituency work, noting that when its future was uncertain she and Mrs Maltby worked with Manx Care to retain services. She worked with Douglas City Council on Spring Valley, instigating meetings and keeping the regeneration conversation on the table, and wanted to regenerate Spring Valley by building on the resurfacing of estate roads and exploring opportunities for new housing. She wanted to invest in Anagh Coar with a phased, costed programme of improvements, deliver better roads, pavements and buses by pressing DOL and Bus Vannin, and wanted visible, accessible community policing.