Mec Vannin
Encyclopedia
is a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 operating in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

. Formed in 1962, it seeks to revoke the status of Man as a British self-governing Crown dependency
Crown dependency
The Crown Dependencies are British possessions of the Crown, as opposed to overseas territories of the United Kingdom. They comprise the Channel Island Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea....

 and establish a completely sovereign state, which would be a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

.

It describes its aims as being:
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
Manx National Party
The first Manx National Party was a party that identified itself with the UK Conservatives. They were active in the period between World War I and World War II in opposing the activities of the Manx Labour Party. However, unlike the Manx Labour Party, they were unsuccessful in establishing...

, which was a name used by two other parties.

History

's growth can be considered to be directly parallel to the Isle of Man's status as a tax haven
Tax haven
A tax haven is a state or a country or territory where certain taxes are levied at a low rate or not at all while offering due process, good governance and a low corruption rate....

. In particular, they have campaigned strongly against immigration to the island, particularly from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. This has prompted more growth in the Political party, as the relations with the UK change for the worse. This continues to feature strongly in their current platform 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."


In the 1976 election they put up ten candidates. Only one was successful though, Peter Craine
Peter Craine
Peter Craine was a politician from the Isle of Man and an MHK for Douglas South.He was originally with the party Mec Vannin. In the 1976 election they put up ten candidates. Only Peter Craine was successful...

. He remains to this day the only person to be a Member of the House of Keys (MHK), although several ex-members have gone on to become MHKs, such as Treasury Minister Allan Bell
Allan Bell
The Honourable Allan Robert Bell MHK is a Manx politician, who is the current Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, having been elected to that position on October 11, 2011. He was formerly the Minister for Economic Development of the Isle of Man Government and is Member of the House of Keys for...

, Phil Gawne
Phil Gawne
Philip Anderson "Phil" Gawne BSc MHK is a Manx politician, who is the Member of the House of Keys for Rushen, a constituency in the Isle of Man. He is also the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and therefore a member of the Council of Ministers.-Early life:Born in 1965 in Douglas to...

 and Hazel Hannan
Hazel Hannan
Hazel Hannan, former Member of the House of Keys , was previously the Deputy Speaker of the House of Keys and an Education Minister and then Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in the Isle of Man Government. She was elected in 1986 as an independent MHK for Peel, after a failed attempt...

.

Peter Craine subsequently left the party, joining the short-lived breakaway Manx National Party which was formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1981.

Additional policy

Mec Vannin also has a strong environmentalist
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...

 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
    Reforestation
    Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....

     - by native deciduous
    Deciduous
    Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

     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
    Tourism
    Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

  • A Manx university
    University
    A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

  • A socialised health service
  • Separate 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."
  • On customs union:
"The right to determine indirect taxation, including VAT
Value added tax
A value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...

. This necessitates the cessation of the Customs and Excise Agreement."


Mec Vannin is also highly critical of the Manx legal and policing systems, as they currently stand.

Yn Pabyr Seyr

Distributed at least twice a year since 1991, The Free Paper is the newsletter of , 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
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...

, but the majority of content is in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

.

Office bearers

  • President - Bernard Moffatt
    Bernard Moffatt
    Bernard Moffatt was born in Peel, Isle of Man in April 1946. Both his mother and father were Manx. He was educated at Peel Clothworkers School, a stroke of luck for someone who would become a leading figure in the Nationalist movement, because at that time schools which promoted Manx cultural...

  • Chairman - Mark Kermode
  • Secretary - Verity Gorry
  • Treasurer - Cristl Jerry
  • PRO - Mark Kermode
  • Editor - Alan Comaish

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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