On-Air Now
Facebook

Council shake up to bring fairer representation claims Leader

Thu, 13 Dec 2018


The Leader of Douglas Council hopes a shake up in membership will make a ‘big difference’ to public perception of the authority.

An inquiry opened today on cutting the number of Council wards from six to four, and the number of seats from 16 to 12.

The move is hoped to pave the way for fairer representation by addressing discrepancies in the population numbers of the different wards.

The four new local areas would also align with national constituencies, making it easier for MHKs and local politicians to work together.

Should the inquiry chair find no issue with the proposal, it’s understood the changes would take affect during the 2020 local government elections.

Leader David Christian has pushed for the reorganisation of the Council over the last decade.

He says with various services transferred to central government over the years, it’s right the local authority changes size to reflect that.

The Hills Ward representative is sure councillors will be able to cope with the workload, and believes fewer spaces could prompt more contested elections.

Local Democracy Reporter Ewan Gawne asked Mr Christian whether the change is down to over-governance, or a push for fairer representation:


Media

  • David Christian on inquiry

 

Subscribe to get Energy FM News direct to your mobile device

You can get Energy FM News delivered direct to your mobile device using one of the following methods.

  • In the Apple News App on iOS search for Energy FM IOM and then just add it to your favourites
  • In the Google News & Weather App just search for Energy FM and then add us as a customised section
  • If you use an RSS Reader then just add our feed to your app, click here for our news RSS feed