Charlie Shimmins | August 2016
My name is Charlie Shimmins, and
this month has been my first in the role of Parliamentary Intern at Tynwald,
the parliament of the Isle of Man. I have been interested in politics since
studying it here on the Island at A-Level, before spending the last three years
reading International Politics and Conflict Studies at Queen’s University
Belfast. Now back on the Island, I am really excited to have the opportunity to
witness the activities of Tynwald from the inside. In particular, I am looking
forward to the opportunity to contribute to the work of the parliament through
involvement with various committees, and in any other way I can.
I have joined Tynwald at a time of
change, with the House of Keys being dissolved in my first week. With a new
House of Keys arriving and a new parliamentary session commencing, there have
been a number of tasks to complete to keep things up to date. I have been
working on the new version of the Tynwald Companion, which is published every
five years and serves as a ‘user’s manual’ of sorts for parliamentarians,
officials and the public alike. In particular, I needed to update a chapter
documenting every committee report published since 2011. While a daunting task,
it was an excellent way of gaining a deeper understanding of how the work of
Tynwald is carried out through the system of committees and their reports.
Similarly, I have been hard at work designing the layout for the Tynwald Annual
Report 2015-2016, a summary of the activities of the parliament over the last
session. Whilst some information will only be available after the General
Election on the 22nd September, I have been able to produce a design
framework around which the final version of the report can be compiled.
One of the most enjoyable aspects
of the intern role thus far has been leading guided tours of the Tynwald
chambers, which take place twice a week and are free for the public to attend. I
have enjoyed learning the history of the buildings and of Tynwald and while my
first tour was perhaps a bit notecard-heavy, I’m sure that with time I’ll be
able to deliver the tour with confidence. It’s very rewarding to show visitors
to the Island our parliament and answer their questions, or rather as many as I
can.
In my fourth week, I’ve been
working towards a new initiative that would see every vote taken in Tynwald
published in an easily searchable format on the Tynwald website. The voting
results are already accessible online through Hansard and the published Votes
and Proceedings, but now the data is now easily accessible via a simple to use
search function.. Changes to the accessibility of information like this all
serve to increase the transparency and accountability of Tynwald, something
that the parliament is already proud to receive international praise and
commendation for.
I’m now eagerly looking forward to
the parliamentary session of 2016-2017. With new Members of the House of Keys,
a new Speaker, Chief Minister and Council of Ministers it’s certain to be an
interesting year in Manx politics and I’m keen to play a part in it.