A campaigner for a better gas deal for Manx residents is concerned that the removal of Chris Thomas as minister could weaken the island’s position.

Taxi driver Barry Murphy has been campaigning for lower prices for residents since 2016.

In an open letter to Chief Minister Howard Quayle, Mr Murphy, who leads the Manx Gas and Government Protest Group, said he is not interested in going over old ground but looking forward.

His letter said: ’From the perspective of our group of 1,500-plus members, there is real concern that the removal of Chris Thomas could, but not necessarily will, weaken our position in getting a good deal on our gas bills moving forward.

’Taking facts, figures and numbers from the NERA report, we have calculated that Manx Gas retail customers are currently paying in excess of 62% higher than the highest paying Ofgem price capped customers in the UK.

’There is really only one word which politely describes this and that word is disgraceful.’

Mr Murphy continued to say that Mr Thomas’s motion, set to be debated in the June sitting of Tynwald, would see members instruct the government to give notice to Manx Gas that it is terminating the agreement for regulation of the gas market in the Isle of Man, dated April 24, 2015.

Mr Thomas’s motion also calls on the government to ’impose regulation which covers the public supply of gas for retail customers and which both conforms to UK regulatory best practice and is in line with the other proposals and conclusions of the gas regulatory review committee’s report published in February 2019’.

In his letter, Mr Murphy has provided a list of seven demands from the group including Mr Thomas’s motion being moved and that no voluntary agreement or ’quick fixes’ before the sitting of Tynwald on June 16.

Other demands include the fixed costs on Manx Gas, of which some are imposed by government, being reduced, the internal costs at Manx Gas to be reduced, the return on capital employed price cap being reduced, an external regulator to be employed and the Office of Fair Trading to be removed as regulator.

He added: ’Our group has been very supportive of your willingness, even at a very early stage of the current government, to make the 2015 gas agreement a matter of priority. We do not need, or want at this stage a quick fix, we want fairness. Any MHKs or ministers that are currently using gas and paying the bills will understand the costings are nothing short of disgraceful. If they are on oil they either may not care, or not see how disgraceful the situation is.

’Please do the right thing Mr Quayle. Do not sell us out for the sake of a quick voluntary agreement. The vast majority of our members are satisfied with the commitment that a new deal will be backdated to January 2020. Many think it should be backdated to 2018 at least, but we realise fairy tales will not happen.’

Jersey Gas, owned by the same parent company as Manx Gas, this week announced a 6.5% gas price increase is to be applied to all customers in the island where talks between the company and the government have stalled.