Commissioner bids to merge two voting districts

There are about 6,250 registered voters in Ramsey

Merging two local authority polling districts in the north of the Isle of Man would enable "all constituents to have a say in who is representing them", a Ramsey Commissioner has said.

The local authority's board is made up of 12 commissioners, elected to serve in two six-seat wards representing the northern and southern parts of the town.

Finlo Williams argued the gap of about 1,000 between the 3,609 registered voters in the north ward and 2,652 in the south, meant the system was not "fair or democratic".

The divide was "just going to get bigger", as only the northern part of the town had the land to further expand in future, he said.

'Represent whole town'

Motions to merge the wards were put forward in August and December 2021 but at the time the commissioners voted to defer the decision until boundary extension proposals had been determined.

Town clerk Tim Cowin said that process had been "long", and while it remained ongoing the motion to merge the two wards had "rightly" been brought back to be reconsidered.

Mr Cowin who compiled a report on the matter in 2021, said an advantage of a merger would be that those elected would have a "mandate from all", but it would also mean when canvassing candidates would need to visit all of the town's households rather than half.

Mr Williams said it while it had previously been thought merging the wards would double the costs from £5,800 to about £12,000, the need for only one polling station could cut that to about £9,800.

He said the move was important as there was "no point" in allowing half the town to vote for someone who "represents the whole town", and it would create fairness for all constituents to "have a say".

The motion will be debated at the board's June sitting.