Isle of Man's chief minister appoints new Council of Ministers

The Isle of Man's chief minister has selected his Council of Ministers for the next five years, including a record number of women.

Alfred Cannan has made the appointments following his own election into the top job in Manx politics on Tuesday.

Half of the eight ministers are now women, in a shift from the all-male line up prior to the general election.

Mr Cannan said the even gender split had not been not a conscious decision, but was based on each member's ability.

The appointments follow a record number of 10 women being elected to serve in the House of Keys at September's general election.

Mr Cannan said he was confident the make-up of the ministerial team would "deliver a secure, vibrant and sustainable future for our island".

Under the new administration, former MLCs Kate Lord-Brennan and Jane Poole-Wilson will head up the Cabinet Office and Department of Justice and Home Affairs respectively, with the latter also appointed deputy chief minister.

Ms Poole-Wilson said, due to the ongoing pandemic, knowing "who will chair the council should anything happen to the chief minister" would be "a helpful clarification".

Clare Barber has been given responsibility for the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, while Julie Edge takes over the role in the Department of Education, Sport and Culture from Alex Allinson.

Dr Allinson, who unsuccessfully contested the election to be chief minister, moves to the Department for Enterprise.

David Ashford takes charge of island's purse strings as treasury minister, while Lawrie Hooper takes over from him in the Department of Health and Social Care.

Tim Crookall, who previously served on the Department of Infrastructure before becoming education minister between 2012 and 2016, now returns as the infrastructure minister.

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