Tynwald has voted to secure the future of Manx Radio as a public service broadcaster.

Members rejected the radical conclusions of a controversial select committee report - the 14th on Manx Radio - and instead overwhelmingly backed an amendment from Ayre and Michael MHK Tim Baker.

This amendment called for Tynwald to affirm its commitment to an independent public service media and for CoMin to pursue negotiations with the BBC aimed at securing ’improved outcomes’.

It also called on the Manx Radio board to develop a sustainable operational and funding plan to be submitted to Treasury by October next year.

Following a three-hour debate last month, Mr Baker’s amendment failed to win the support of LegCo and so returned this week for a combined vote.

But in an unexpected move, Kerry Sharpe MLC tabled an amendment to the amendment, resulting in a further 20 minute debate and accusations of this being ’Groundhog Day’.

Mrs Sharpe was seeking yet another committee inquiry, this time into a wider media strategy - although this was not specifically stated in her amendment which simply removed the call for Manx Radio to develop a sustainable funding plan.

Mrs Sharpe said: ’The whole media landscape is changing as I speak. FM radio will soon be a thing of the past - as will print newspapers.’

She said she was ’not seeking to avoid tackling the perennial questions that hover over Manx Radio regarding subvention and efficiency’.

’Rather, I’m seeking to examine these questions as part of a separate issue - that of an overall public service media strategy of which Manx Radio could form a part,’ she said.

’We have to ask ourselves in this era of fake news how we can best ensure impartial, trusted public services media is made available to the next generation.

’It’s not fair to force Manx Radio to examine itself in isolation. The only sensible way forward is to look at how radio, audio visual and internet content can be produced in the most cost effective manner.’

But Mr Baker said: ’We are all looking aghast at what is going on in Westminster with the Brexit situation and we are actually doing our own version here!’

He said: ’We are talking about yet another committee which will apparently deal with this once and for all! It’s going to solve world peace and everything else!’

The select committee report torpedoed by Mr Baker’s amendment called for Manx Radio’ reliance on commercial advertising to be cut and the station to budget for a surplus.

It suggested the island should stop paying the licence fee unless we got a better deal from the BBC.