Every year on Tynwald Day members of the public have the opportunity to submit petitions to our political leaders at the open-air event.

Petitions that aren’t ruled ’out of order’ can then be taken up by a member of Tynwald and form the basis of a new law.

One example was 30 years ago when gay rights campaigner Alan Shea, wearing a concentration camp uniform, presented a petition on Tynwald Hill calling for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the island.

The following year homosexual acts were decriminalised.

This year, veteran petitioner and letter writer Trevor Cowin, from Peel, is submitting a total of 11 Petitions for Redress of Grievance.

Mr Cowin has petitions about the Cabinet Office giving £58,000 to the RNLI to teach children to swim in Bangladesh, Manx Utilities’ demolition of Glenfaba House near Peel, and the ’shambles’ which occurred around the presentation of a public petition concerning fireworks.

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There is also his petition against the way the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture applied the ’20-metre’ planning law concerning interested person status, which he said prevented the ’30,000 or so’ people who protested against the cutting down of the St Mark’s elm arch from claiming this status if they had objected to the planning application.

Another of Mr Cowin’s petitions is about his claim that the President of Tynwald refused to allow him to exercise his ’ancient right’ at Tynwald Hill last year, with him pointing out that social distancing had been removed on June 15 last year and the standing orders which provided for that procedure had not been suspended.

The 2020 event was smaller than usual because of the pandemic, because although lockdown had ended in Isle of Man when it was held, the event was arranged when it was expected that we would continue with social distancing restrictions.

Last Tynwald Day, eight of Mr Cowin’s petitions were also determined by the Clerk of Tynwald to be ’out of order’, and one of Mr Cowin’s petitions this year addresses this.

lAre you planning to submit a petition on Tynwald Day?

Let us know in advance by emailing [email protected] (including your phone number) so that we can give you the best coverage.

It’s a good way to get more publicity for your cause.