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Mec Vannin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mec Vannin is a political party operating in the Isle of Man. Formed in 1962, it seeks to revoke the status of Man as a British Crown Dependency and establish a completely sovereign state, which would be a republic. Its name is Manx for Sons of Man.
It describes its aims as being:
- To achieve national independence for Mann as a sovereign state, based on a republican form of government. To further and safeguard the interests of Mann. To protect the individual and collective rights of its people.
It is sometimes referred to as the "Manx Nationalist Party" (usually not by members), but this can lead to confusion with the Manx National Party, which was a name used by two other parties.
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Mec Vannin's growth can be considered to be directly parallel to the Isle of Man's status as a tax haven [1]. In particular, they have campaigned strongly against immigration to the island, particularly from England. This continues to feature strongly in their current platform (reference Immigration, who's kidding who? [2]) and policy:
- "In a small island nation such as ours, in default of policies to control the growth of the finance sector, policies to control the size of the population are essential for the achievement of economic, ecological and cultural sustainability. The rapid and unnatural population increase, due to an open door policy on immigration, has increased the burden on the island's infrastructure and environment whilst eroding the fabric of community life. As a result, Mec Vannin believes the immediate introduction of immigration controls to be a priority." [3]
In the 1976 election they put up ten candidates. Only one was successful though, Peter Craine. He remains to this day the only Mec Vannin MHK there has ever been, although several ex-members have gone on to become MHKs, such as Treasury Minister Hon Allan Bell, Hon Phil Gawne and Hazel Hannan.
Peter Craine subsequently left the party, joining the shortlived breakaway Manx National Party which was formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1981.
Mec Vannin also has a strong environmentalist policy, being opposed to overuse of fossil fuels, and they support further decentralisation of power within the island, to local councils.
Other policies include:
- Reforestation - by native deciduous species
- Fishing as "a viable part of the economy", with stronger fisheries protection.
- Farming self-sufficiency for the Isle of Man.
- "Revitalisation" of Manx tourism
- A Manx university
- A Socialised Health Service
- Stronger enforcement of Manx nationality:
- "Manx nationality must be defined by legislation and a Manx passport introduced, with Manx Nationality being first citizenship. Whilst all residents would be eligible for Manx citizenship upon the introduction of legislation, subsequent new residents could only become citizens after due process of naturalisation. Only Manx Citizens would be eligible to vote or to stand for representative public office." [4]
- A Customs Union:
- "the right to determine indirect taxation, including V.A.T. This necessitates the cessation of the Common Purse agreement."
Mec Vannin is also highly critical of the Manx legal and policing systems, as they currently stand.
Distributed at least twice a year since 1990, Yn Pabyr Seyr is the newsletter of Mec Vannin, publicising their policies, views and comments. The archive of back-issues available on line is being updated on an ongoing basis. Its name means "The Free Paper" in Manx [5], but the majority of content is in English.
- President - Bernard Moffatt
- Chairman - Mark Kermode
- Secretary - Verity Gorry
- Treasurer - Cristl Jerry
- PRO - Mark Kermode
- Editor - Alan Comaish
- Cultural Officer - Freddy Cowle