The Manx public will have to wait till October before finding out which, if any, reforms for Manx politics will be introduced.

Last week, after a Tynwald debate lasting more than five hours, it wa still not clear whether any of the radical reforms suggested by Lord Lisvane would be implemented - or instead would just be kicked into the long grass.

The original motion, brought by Chief Minister Howard Quayle, proposed only that the report on the review of the functioning of Tynwald be ’noted’.

But amendment after amendment was tabled, and in the end it was one proposed by Speaker Juan Watterson that won the court’s support.

His amendment sought approval of certain recommendations and their referral to a five-strong select committee on how they would be implemented, while other recommendations would simply be referred for consideration.

Mr Watterson said his amendment provided a direction of travel and would ’grapple with some of the thorny issues that have evaded this court in previous years’ - while also establishing the body to deliver the change required.

He said there was a need to ’preserve what is good and give a clear steer for those areas in need of reform’.

Mr Watterson said people inside and outside the court have said that turkeys don’t vote for Christmas but he had had ’very positive conversations’ with many MLCs who were ’supportive of the generality of the amendment and the approach it delivers’.

The Speaker said Lord Lisvane himselfhad described his recommendations as a ’smorgasbord’ and it was up to members to decide which bits they could swallow.

He said the committee would work to a tight timetable, reporting back by October this year on the reforms to LegCo and by December on the other recommendations.

But Mr Watterson also deviated from Lisvane’s suggestion by proposing that the Bishop should not retain his vote as an MLC. That element was rejected by the court, however, with the Keys voting in favour but LegCo voting against. MLCs also narrowly voted against a recommendation that they should lose their vote on the appointment of a Chief Minister.

Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan tabled his own amendment that Tynwald approve seven of Lisvane’s 11 recommendations and refer the other four - that the Bishop retain his vote as MLC, that there should be no more than one political member in each department and proposals to bolster scrutiny and bring in a new draft bill procedure - to a select committee reporting back by October.

Mr Cannan urged members to ’grasp this opportunity to move forward today’ or ’regret it for the rest of this parliamentary term’.

But fellow Ayre and Michael MHK Tim Baker said all the recommendations should be referred to a committee ’rather than rush to approve it right now’.

David Ashford (Douglas North) criticised Lisvane’s idea of an independent commission to nominate candidates for MLC. ’I’ve always believed in some form of public election for LegCo but if there’s one thing worse than the current system it’s this.’

Bill Shimmins (Middle) also had reservations about the nominations commission. He said rather than a smorgasbord, Lisvane’s report was more like a box of Milk Tray where you ’don’t have the sheet to tell you where the Turkish delight is!’

Health Minister Kate Beecroft (Douglas South) said: ’When voting for reform I want it to be the right reform.’

Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew) said some selective changes would be beneficial but feared that Tynwald would be ’throwing the baby out with the bathwater’ when it came to the changes proposed for MLCs and department memberships.

Earlier the court rejected a procedural amendment from Douglas East MHK Chris Robertshaw that each of Lisvane’s recommendations be debated and voted on separately.

The five-strong committee will be chaired by the Speaker and will comprise MHKs Geoffrey Boot, Alex Allinson and Tim Baker and MLC David Cretney.

After the debate, Rob Callister (Onchan) said there may been the impression that little had been achieved but on reflection the public will see that this was a ’major step forward’ for overall parliamentary reform and in time the sitting would be seen as a ’major watershed event’.

Time indeed will tell.

Lord Lisvane’s report came up with 11 recommendations to reform the functioning of Tynwald.

Tynwald approved a number of these which will be referred to a select committee to look at the changes needed to implement them.

These included the idea that MLCs should not vote on taxation measures and should not be Ministers except in exceptional circumstances.

But the recommendation that MLCs should not vote on the appointment of the Chief Minister was lost after LegCo voted against.

Tynwald backed the idea that the Bishop should remain as an MLC and retain his vote.

There was no disagreement with Lord Lisvane’s idea that a new administration’s first task should be to draw up a Programme of Government.

And just three members - Howard Quayle, Geoffrey Boot and Jason Moorhouse - voted against the idea that Tynwald should ’address with energy’ the need to make its membership more diverse.

Other Lisvane recommendations were simply referred to the committee for consideration.

These included the recommendation that the committee consider when it would be appropriate to appoint MLCs as department members.

Tynwald, however, rejected the idea that there should be no more than one member per department.

It agreed with the principle that political members only be appointed when it is clear they will assume substantial responsibilities in recognition of their enhanced salary and that the pay and enhancements of MLCs should be reviewed in light of their amended responsibilities.

MHKs were split on whether LegCo candidates should be nominated by an independent commission and the idea was rejected by MLCs.

There was also division between the branches of Tynwald on whether sitting MHKs should be eligible for nomination to LegCo so that idea, too, will not be considered by the select committee.

Also rejected was Lisvane’s suggestion for changes to the LegCo voting procedure such that candidates fill the available places in the order of the votes they secure in a single round of voting, and a tie for last place would require a run-off.

Tynwald also rejected a recommendation that the chairmen of the four principal scrutiny committees be elected immediately after the Chief Minister but they agreed with the principle that the chairmen should be paid at the same level as Ministers.

The select committee will report back with recommendations on the election and role of LegCo in October this year and by December on the others.