Manx chief minister to face no confidence vote

Alfred Cannan became the Isle of Man's chief minister in 2021

The Isle of Man's Chief Minister Alfred Cannan is set to face a vote of no confidence in the House of Keys later following a row over future health funding.

Tim Glover MHK has brought the vote in the wake of Lawrie Hooper's resignation as Health Minister.

Glover said he felt "the time had come for a conversation" about the current leadership of the island's government.

Cannan previously said he would be "focussed on the job" ahead of the vote, which now also includes running the health department.

First elected to the house in 2011, the chief minister came into the top job in Manx politics following the general election in September 2021.

During the recent row over funding, Hooper had insisted Manx Care was underfunded, leading to a forecasted £16.8m overspend in some services before April.

He also raised concerns about £5m of savings the island's health care provider planned to make to reduce its deficit in 2024-25.

But Cannan has argued repeated overspends by Manx Care were destabilising government finances and needed to be addressed.

'Rumblings'

Glover said there had been "rumblings in the public domain and on the back benches" about a confidence vote, and with two years left of the administration "I felt now was the right time to have the conversation".

"If a reset is required, we reset. If not it may well frame what we see in the next few years with a change of leadership style or change of tone," he added.

Members of the lower branch of the Manx parliament will vote on whether they support Cannan to continue in the role or not after a debate on the issue.

To be successful there would need to be a majority of 13, but the vote would not be binding.