Two more candidates have entered the fray for next month’s Legislative Council election.

They are former political journalist Alistair Ramsay and Christine Wheeler, a retired tax consultant for the oil industry - taking the overall number of candidates to 12.

Mr Ramsay, 60, who went on to work as a PR officer for the chief secretary’s office and Cabinet Office before retiring last year, is nominated by Garff MHK Daphne Caine, with Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas the seconder.

He said the future of LegCo was in ’leading the independent scrutiny of government’. He pledged to not take a government job if elected, in order to ’focus on the work of examining government and holding it to account’.

Mr Ramsay said there needed to be separation between parliament and government, but the distinction was often ’blurred’.

’Indicative of this lack of clarity is the phenomenon of the members’ briefing, regularly hosted by government for all Tynwald members, behind closed doors, to discuss forthcoming parliamentary business,’ he said.

’These are useful for the participants, but from the outside they can look like the entire national parliament meeting in private, closed and cosy gatherings that inhibit public questioning. I say "look like" because this is as about perception as well as principle.

’The time has come to open up these briefings to the public, and to share their content, by recording them and making them available online.’

Mrs Wheeler’s job saw her working with the shipping, engineering and construction industries, and act as an adviser to the Conservative Party on North Sea tax and licensing policy. She was nominated by Mr Thomas and seconded by Peel and Glenfaba MHK Ray Harmer.

She moved permanently to the Isle of Man in 2013 after retiring.

’I listened to questions in the House of Keys and was astounded at the aggression shown by many MHKs and Ministers,’ she said. ’This seems to me to hinder a democratic debate.’

Since 2016, she said, she had followed all the main political debates and had listened to parliamentary proceedings. She had been in dialogue with MHKs on issues including the Steam Packet, parliamentary reform, Brexit and the proposed changes to the abortion law.

In a statement submitted with her nomination, Mrs Wheeler said she welcomed the change in the political landscape which saw 12 new MHKs after the general election and it left her with ’high hopes’ for the House of Keys and the Council of Ministers.

’I have not been disappointed,’ she said.

There are five seats available - four for five years and one for two years. The other 10 candidates are Jane Poole-Wilson, John Skinner, Dawn Joughin, Juan Kelly, Kate Lord-Brennan, Kerry Sharpe, Tanya Humbles, Marlene Hendy, Kevin Cartledge and Andrea Chambers.

The deadline for nominations is February 23.

Mrs Poole-Wilson is the only one of the four MLCs whose term expires to have announced she is standing. The others are Mike Coleman, Juan Turner and Geoff Corkish.

David Anderson is retiring - leaving a two-year term for one candidate.

The House of Keys will sit to elect MLCs on March 12.

www.tynwald.org.im/about/legco/Pages/2018Election.aspx