Departing Lieutenant Governor praises 'island's quiet self-confidence'

Sir Richard Gozney has served five years as the Queen's representative on the island

The outgoing Lieutenant Governor has praised the Isle of Man for its "quietly self-confident community".

Sir Richard Gozney has served as the Queen's representative on the island for the past five years.

Reflecting on his time in office, he said people had been "very welcoming" and he and Lady Gozney had "hugely" enjoyed their time on the island.

His successor, Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer, will be sworn in on 29 September.

Praising the "exceptional" diversity of the island's economy, Sir Richard said he had "never seen as many strands in an economy in a smallish place".

"Usually there are two main strands and everybody just hopes that they're not going to dip at the same time because they're all at the mercy of outside factors. But here you've got at least half a dozen strands," he said.

Sir Richard (left) lifted the state of emergency in June last year

Commenting on the reception he received on arrival he said he found the island "a community at ease with itself", which "makes it great for newcomers".

"I get the sense that most people in the Isle of Man are really quite happy with the way things are done here, the ways things work through here. I think it probably makes it easier for them to welcome newcomers," he said.

Originally scheduled to leave the island in April, Sir Richard's term of office was extended by six months due to the coronavirus pandemic, which led to him declaring a state of emergency on the island for the first time since World War Two.

He said it was "very clear that it was needed" at the time as a way of limiting the spread of Covid-19 on the island.

That move enabled the government to enact the Emergency Powers Act as part of its fight to protect the Manx community from Covid during the early stages of the pandemic.