Mid-Term Appraisals

[Harry Lamb]

10 hours ago, P.K. said:

You have to factor in that generally MHK's will be pure amateurs at whatever portfolio they are handed. It's simply part and parcel of being an MHK. Of course, you can always dodge responsibility by becoming the Squeaker or whatever but for most it's going to be "challenging" shall we say. IMHO the steepest learning curve has to be that of Health with the size of budget and responsibility that goes with it. Which makes it the poisoned chalice...

Sheer delusions of Statehood also means that Tynwald has to try and mimic the HoC with their Ministerial appointments. Unfortunately a paucity of talent means they are immediately on the back foot. It shouldn't be surprising though. In the UK the constituencies have an electorate of between 70k to 77k to produce just one MP. And as the previous tory administration has shown us even lots of them can be spectacularly dire. In the IOM an electorate of just 65k is tasked with finding not 1 but 24 MHK's! A ratio per representative of 1 per 2,708 electors compared to the UK, on whom they model themselves, of 1 per 73,500 electors. A difference of an awful lot!

Add to that the fact that party politics are pretty much non-existent in Tynwald, which simply encourages a breeding ground of self-interest, and the whole farrago looks unmistakably unfit for purpose...

Is farrago the plural of Farage?

[Stu Peters]

19 hours ago, Ringy Rose said:

Stu got given the Post Office job and kept quiet ever since. He seems to be ok at the Post Office job, to be fair to him, but it was depressing how easily he was bought off by Cannan.

But then again, Stu chose Cannan to be Chief Minister despite all the evidence showing Cannan is nothing but an arrogant idiot.

This government is up there with the worst of them, but when the Chief Minister is Alf Cannan what do you expect? I had very low expectations from the Temu Toryboy and yet, somehow, he’s managed to be even worse than I thought he’d be.

I know I shouldn’t rise to the bait, but;

* Being given IOMPO made absolutely no difference to my desire to improve things if I could. I think I get a 5% uplift for the extra responsibility which does not buy my obedience on anything. I have never been told how to vote on any issue.

* If there was a snap election for CM today I would still vote for Alf, not because I seek his patronage but because I still think he’s the best person available for the job. He is very far from being an arrogant idiot and has the toughest and most thankless job in the IOM. But of course social media pundits know better.

* To me the biggest mistake we’re making is to move money from other services to ‘combat climate change’. I’m the only one of 32 members of Tynwald to vote consistently against what I consider a complete waste of time and money. Net Zero is more likely to drive our economy into the weeds, our people into fuel poverty and achieve zero (to five decimal places). I’ve achieved nothing by being that lone voice.

* I save my awkward and unpopular questions for the departmental or committee meetings I attend rather than contribute to the game show that is Keys Questions. I don’t believe in showboating, virtue signalling or making politics a blood sport. The 2026 campaigns have already begun though, so expect much more of it.

Edited August 18 by Stu Peters

[CATHYJAY]

On 8/15/2024 at 12:45 AM, Jarndyce said:

The voters in Ramsey got Hooper into Tynwald and, by extension, into the DHSC.

Just let that sink in for a minute or two…

I wonder what he said to them?

Whatever he said must have been made up tosh he does sod all for Ramsey or it's constituents.

[GreyWolf]

Stu,

I always appreciate the fact that your probably the only mhk brave enough to post on here and long may it continue, I originally thought Cannan was the only fit candidate for CM but after him being in post, let’s say I find him totally unsuitable and sooner he’s gone the better. As for net zero 100% behind you on that load of boll**ks  its a mechanism for the some middle class eco warriors and big business to screw us over. 

[Amadeus]

1 hour ago, Stu Peters said:

 

* To me the biggest mistake we’re making is to move money from other services to ‘combat climate change’. I’m the only one of 32 members of Tynwald to vote consistently against what I consider a complete waste of time and money. Net Zero is more likely to drive our economy into the weeds, our people into fuel poverty and achieve zero (to five decimal places). I’ve achieved nothing by being that lone voice.

While there is apparently a business angle that may see us suffer if we don’t embrace this stuff, I largely agree with you on this topic. The Isle of Man needs to be pragmatic here and have their own best interests at heart, which do not align with the feelings of the eco lot. You can keep the place nice and clean without wasting millions we really need elsewhere. 

[Anyone]

Maybe Stu Peters should be chief minister. Then we’d find out. Can only go one of two ways.

[Stu Peters]

1 hour ago, Anyone said:

Maybe Stu Peters should be chief minister. Then we’d find out. Can only go one of two ways.

I lack the ‘customer facing’ and ‘working happily with others’ skills for that to work. Benevolent Dictator For Life is the only job I covet.

[Ringy Rose]

5 hours ago, Stu Peters said:

He is very far from being an arrogant idiot and has the toughest and most thankless job in the IOM. But of course social media pundits know better.

The MHKs who voted the other way knew better. Cannan was an arrogant fool when he was Treasury Minister in the last government and he’s got worse since then. His failure to declare gifts, and his smug and glib response to it, is just him in microcosm.

It’s a tough job and a thankless job and he’s simply not up to it. He’d probably do better if he didn’t just surround himself with nodding dogs.

5 hours ago, Stu Peters said:

To me the biggest mistake we’re making is to move money from other services to ‘combat climate change’. I’m the only one of 32 members of Tynwald to vote consistently against what I consider a complete waste of time and money. Net Zero is more likely to drive our economy into the weeds, our people into fuel poverty and achieve zero (to five decimal places). I’ve achieved nothing by being that lone voice.

I’d largely agree with this, though. We’re such a small place that anything we do is pissing into the wind.

The obvious stuff should be done because it helps people- house insulation is great for people as they spend less on energy bills, the net zero aspect is just a bonus. Otherwise, nah, waste of time.

[Anyone]

1 hour ago, Stu Peters said:

I lack the ‘customer facing’ and ‘working happily with others’ skills for that to work. Benevolent Dictator For Life is the only job I covet.

Ok , ever thought you might be in the wrong job then? A lucrative one , money wise that is , but not one you seem to take that seriously? After all most of your posts here are quite jocular , funny even , but is that what we should expect from our elected representatives? If you do stand again I think you’ll lose , not because you are bad at what you do , just perhaps not very good at it. I suspect you’ll not allow the electorate to make that choice.

[Stu Peters]

Having a sense of humour does not preclude anyone, elected or not, taking a job seriously. You have no idea whether I’m any good at the job or not, you’re just firing blanks to feel good.

[Albert Tatlock]

8 minutes ago, Stu Peters said:

Having a sense of humour does not preclude anyone, elected or not, taking a job seriously. You have no idea whether I’m any good at the job or not, you’re just firing blanks to feel good.

The mistake all too many new politicians make IMO...is that they focus on 'the job' they are allocated rather than the politics and electorate. They suddenly are getting paid for 'the job' they are allocated and think it's just the same as life in the private sector. They suddenly see themselves as a manager, trying to impress the CM who allocated them 'the job'. But politicians are not managers or CEOs.

The job is actually largely irrelevant relevant to the electorate, yet politicians often spend hours questioning each other and arguing with each other on behalf of failing departments. We've lost some good politicians, one last time who tried to take on the DoI.

This is the nub...of the control that the civil service wield over inexperienced politicians. They are fantastic manipulators, they specialise in it, and have made a success out of it for years.

Stu, you won't be voted in or out next time based on the price of a stamp.

Go back to what you originally stood for...throw your toys out of the pram and stand up for what needs to be said...

...and cut down this bloated, overpensioned, overpaid shambles of an administration that has been failing the island since 2006 and the first 'Scope and size of government' report.

Don't fall into the trap set by the civil service here...

...who currently seem to have both your legs and an arm caught there already.

 

 

[Jarndyce]

17 hours ago, CATHYJAY said:

Whatever he said must have been made up tosh he does sod all for Ramsey or it's constituents.

Fred will be along in a moment to explain why you’re wrong, I expect…

[Lost Login]

22 hours ago, Stu Peters said:

 You have no idea whether I’m any good at the job or not,

And that is the problem. You, just like all the other elected MHK's, effectively applied in 2021 to the public to appoint you to do a job for 5 years at a salary greater that you probably had any real expectation of earning otherwise. In doing so you set out what you would do for us in return. In short I think you said what you would be offering was "common sense and accountability"  https://stuart097.wixsite.com/stupetersformiddle

Approximately  3 years later you are suggesting that the public who potentially decided to "employ" you and who would be the people who would make the decision on whether to "employ" you again should you stand for re-election have no idea of whether you are any good at your job or not. 

It should not be acceptable that the constituents have no idea whether an MHK is doing a great job or not. Is it surprising that many appear to have a poor opinion of their and other MHks if they get no indication of how good or not a job an individual is doing. You may be an extremely diligent hard working MHK but for all most us know you could equally be doing eff all and simply taking the money.

 

[Two-lane]

On 8/18/2024 at 10:54 PM, Stu Peters said:

You have no idea whether I’m any good at the job or not,

So do something about that - and while you are at it, do something about paying for car parking in Douglas.

[Steve_Christian]

On 8/18/2024 at 2:30 PM, Stu Peters said:

I know I shouldn’t rise to the bait, but;

* Being given IOMPO made absolutely no difference to my desire to improve things if I could. I think I get a 5% uplift for the extra responsibility which does not buy my obedience on anything. I have never been told how to vote on any issue.

* If there was a snap election for CM today I would still vote for Alf, not because I seek his patronage but because I still think he’s the best person available for the job. He is very far from being an arrogant idiot and has the toughest and most thankless job in the IOM. But of course social media pundits know better.

* To me the biggest mistake we’re making is to move money from other services to ‘combat climate change’. I’m the only one of 32 members of Tynwald to vote consistently against what I consider a complete waste of time and money. Net Zero is more likely to drive our economy into the weeds, our people into fuel poverty and achieve zero (to five decimal places). I’ve achieved nothing by being that lone voice.

* I save my awkward and unpopular questions for the departmental or committee meetings I attend rather than contribute to the game show that is Keys Questions. I don’t believe in showboating, virtue signalling or making politics a blood sport. The 2026 campaigns have already begun though, so expect much more of it.

Thanks Stu. With regards to questions and ‘showboating’ - I think there may be some of this, but (IMHO) there is a positive to asking the difficult and awkward questions in a public forum, where the answers are therefore public record to allow for greater transparency (I assume one of your election pledges?) and to help hold individuals and departments to account, by yourselves as the representatives of the public, and to the public themselves. Would you not agree this could be part of your arsenal to ‘bring back the middle ground’?