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Chief minister reveals details of cabinet reshuffle
A RESHUFFLE of the Council of Ministers has been announced.
In a shake-up to coincide with Chief Minister Tony Brown's reorganisation of government, only one minister – Home Affairs Minister Adrian Earnshaw – is keeping his current remit.
But there are no new faces in the cabinet.
As widely expected, Allan Bell moves from Treasury to the new Department of Economic Development, which is the central component of the reorganisation of government.
Anne Craine moves from education to take over at the new-style Treasury, where the main remit now will be managing the government budget.
Announcing the reshuffle, Mr Brown said: 'I look forward to working with my ministerial colleagues as we enter an important new era in the Island's political and social history.
'I am confident they will bring their wealth of skills, knowledge and experience to their new departments and work together for the benefit of the Isle of Man and its people.
'The changes will sharpen our focus on growing the economy and revenues, so that government can continue to support the quality of life that is so precious to us all.'
See today's Isle of Man Examiner for more on the announcement.
New ministerial positions, as of April 1.
Allan Bell MHK, Economic Development
David Cretney MHK, Community, Culture and Leisure
Eddie Teare MHK, Education and Children
John Shimmin MHK, Environment, Food and Agriculture
Adrian Earnshaw MHK, Home Affairs
David Anderson MHK, Health
Martyn Quayle MHK, Social Care
Phil Gawne MHK, Infrastructure
Anne Craine MHK, Treasury
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Send your comments to newsviews@newsiom.co.im
YOUR COMMENTS
Rearranging deck chairs while Titanic sinking.
DISGRUNTLED, Douglas
Same old, same old. The only decent minister in the cabinet is Mr Allan Bell. Oh great!! Eddie Teare has moved from the DHSS to education and children. He's completely messed up with our health and wellbeing, so now let's see if he can wreck our children's futures as well as their health. They should all resign, as the majority of people on this Island have lost confidence in these ministers and the so-called government – so have some ministerial responsibility and do the right thing, resign. Then hold new elections, and if you get voted back in, buck up, grow some b*lls and represent the Island properly, instead of relying on UK political backbenchers and PR firms.
TIM K
Look out Education Mr Teare will come in with a great big axe and start chopping. Only 18 months until the next election, so I hope the electorate remember which ministers are going to responsible for all the cuts (sorry they say no redundancies will be made). But then maybe some of the ministers will not stand at the next election. Has this reshuffle been made so some ministers won't be tagged with some of the harsh decisions which are ahead of us? If they can't get things right now, how do you get it right by shuffling the same pack? New blood with new ideas I say give someone else the chance to put our island back where we were, it's this lot that's messed it all up. So this new group of ministers (and you cant' tell me they all wanted to change) have got 18 months before, we the electorate have a chance to do something about it at the elections.
CONCERNED NORTHERNER
So is Tony telling us he's suddenly realized he's had the wrong people in the wrong jobs all along, or has he suddenly disovered some new talent among his colleagues that has so far eluded the rest of us? Is this time of crisis really the best time to give his colleagues new and unfamiliar portfolios? Now all we need is for Tony return to his true vocation behind the counter, selling batteries, and all will be sweetness and light once again. That other nice Mr Brown and that darling Mr Darling will say they're sorry and will give us all our VAT back again, that nasty Mr Burnham will disappear in a big puff of purple smoke, and those crooked Icelanders will all sail back to Norway, leaving all their money behind. Soon every little Manx boy and girl will be jolly again and all our present MHKs (except for those nasty irreverent chaps who ask tiresome and difficult questions in Tynwald, and have a different take on Government 'policy') will be returned in the next election with enormous new majorities, guaranteeing them all pensions and expenses for life, and we will all live happily ever after. As reported in yesterday's Sunday Times, in reports suppressed by the UK Government: 'Stop the restructurings. The only thing they generate is redundancy payments." One body responsible for improving standards reported to five different ministers and had three different names in the space of 30 months.'
Plus a change, plus c'est la mme chose.
ANGRY MANXMAN
Tony the only big mistake you made is not sacking the chief minister and giving the job to Allan Bell, or let us have an early general election and let the public sort the problem out and get rid of all the deadwood.
RR
Isle of Man = Banana Republic! The common psychological traits of a Banana Republic are what the ancients called alazoneia (brash presumption of knowledge by the ignorant). It does sound like our government 100%! When will the Manx public say enough is enough...we need these fools out immediately and Brown should allow the public to decide on a new government now not in a couple of years time.
BEN
Angry Manxman: How dare you suggest that the Icelandic affair with money etc. was caused by Norway. Please get your geography and your facts right or us Vikings will have to come and invade you all again.
LAMIA
I totally agree with TIM K's comments - prior to messing up the Health Service, lets not forget that Eddie Teare was responsible for the MEA and look at the mess that resulted in .... Is it me, or is there a pattern? People of the North, please find a decent candidate to replace this natural disaster of a man, he only retained his place last time due to the fact that no-one stood against him. For the sake of the Islands survival, please hunt out a decent candidate and use your voting power.
VERY WORRIED MANXIE
LAMIA, it is unfortunately you rather than I who needs to revisit the facts, particularly the historical and geographical ones. Recommend you re-read your Sagas to see where the Icelanders came from in the first place. If the literary record is not enough, the DNA records of modern Icelanders shows that up to 80% originally came from Western Norway, while the rest were of Celtic stock (so perhaps we too are partly to blame for the present government in Reykjavik, in addition to being wholly responsible for this one). Both Iceland and Norway came under the control of the Danish Crown in 1380, and the Danes were responsible for the place for most of the next 600 years. Nowhere in my earlier contriution does it say that the Icelandic financial crisis was caused by Norway, merely that the Icelanders might be going back, and might leave their ill-gotten gains behind. This is about as likely an eventuality as Mr Burnham disappearing in a puff of purple smoke, or our present crop (I use the word advisedly)of MHKs being returned to office after the next election, so do not trouble yourself unduly. Don't you Vikings understand English? Or irony?
ANGRY MANXMAN
When will the MHKS outside the Council of Ministers realise that until they have the guts and ability to progress a motion of no confidence in the Chief minister and if technically possible the whole council of ministers then they are putting their own seats in jeopardy at the next election(2011).
JSW
Very worried manxie, are you on crack?? Before Mr Teare was in the MEA they were borrowing money left, right and centre. He was sent in to clean it up as best he could, he didn't create the problem. Now the previous two sentences are called facts, you may want to familiarise yourself with them. After pulling it back from the abyss, he was then sent to the DHSS to clean up the mess made there. You bleat on about voting these people in/out, but it is clear from the standard of factually incorrect comments on these webpages, why the Govt is struggling. I don't know where this Utopian Govt you are after is but it ain't here!
Cheers,
AB
Dear IOM news, The VAT sharing and Health agreement issues have tested our Politicians abilities perhaps more than they would have expected, perhaps to our surprise. I have no doubt that they have failed the island in these tasks. So they now look inwards, to reorganise departments then to reorganise themselves - an attempt to give the public confidence that the same people doing different jobs in different departments with different names will actually get....better results. I hope somebody out there has that confidence, I certainly have none.
TT
Angry Manxman, do you think the Icelandic people live in/come from Norway? Please tell me you do, as that would explain all of your posts on these webpages!
Cheers,
AB
Never mind a re-shuffle, what we need is new blood, and a reduction in ministers, we do not need so many! This is just a PR excercise to show us that something is being done, unfortunately it is totally counter-productive and will only achieve yet more government expenditure with no real gain. To those disputing the origins of the Icelanders, what is the relevance to this article? I suppose it does highlight however the fact that there is a government that is more inept at handling and regulating its finances than ours!
TTTASH
JSW. If only it were that easy. The ministerial system is a joke and the block vote of the council of ministers (including their hangers on) will always see off any vote of no confidence. With regard to the safety of the seats of the non council members, in my view the only certainties to be re-elected are Peter Karran and David Cannan
CONCERNED MANXMAN
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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