A motion calling on Chief Minister Chris Thomas to publish a Government Programme by the end of November has been approved at the first sitting of the new Tynwald.

The document will outline the current challenges and opportunities facing the Island, alongside a prioritised policy agenda, action plan and legislative programme.

It is intended to be reviewed and revised annually, with updated versions laid before Tynwald for debate and approval each October.

Mr Thomas brought the motion before members on Tuesday, October 20, having submitted it before becoming Chief Minister.

However, the motion is not new.

Mr Thomas attempted to table the same motion in October 2021, calling for a Government document setting out the island’s challenges and opportunities, policy priorities and legislative programme, with annual reviews.

At the time, then Chief Minister Alfred Cannan said he had already committed to publishing an Island Plan during his campaign for the role and would have sought to adjourn the debate until November. Mr Thomas did not bring the motion back in November 2021.

New Speaker of the House of Keys David Ashford described it as an ‘interesting example of how quickly political circumstances can change’.

Speaking in Tynwald on Tuesday, Mr Thomas said the Government did not want to produce another lengthy document attempting to cover every issue.

He said: ‘We have begun the process of working with Tynwald members to co-author this plan, but I was so heartened to hear that we are all largely agreed on one aim: we all need to work together to improve the lives of the people of the island.’

He said the motion was about getting the work under way ‘clearly and transparently’, allowing the public to understand what Government was doing and hold it to account.

Mr Thomas said the programme needed to reflect the Island’s financial resources, capacity and ability to deliver, rather than become ‘a letter to Father Christmas’ listing aspirations without a clear plan.

‘If everything is a priority, nothing is,’ he told members.

The Chief Minister said the island needed to respond quickly to changing economic conditions, technology, migration, climate and energy issues, international standards and the security of its connections.

He said Government would return next month with its immediate priorities, initial actions and a small number of measures by which members and the public could assess progress.

However, if the full document is delivered by November 30, it would miss the four-week Register of Business deadline for December’s Tynwald sitting, meaning a debate on it may not take place until January 2027.