The chief minister has congratulated Sir Kier Starmer and the Labour Party on their victory in the UK General Election.
Labour won by a landslide, with the Conservatives suffering their biggest defeat in history.
Alfred Cannan spoke with Sian Cowper and Ben Hartley on Manx Radio Breakfast shortly after 8am this morning (5 July, Tynwald Day).
More on my good morning and greetings on our national day. The first thing I should say of course is congratulations to Keir Starmer and the Labour Party and to say that the Ironman Government looks forward to working with them and building strong mutually strong relationships now over the coming next five years. But in terms of the impact this could have in terms of for governments, what exactly could that impact be? Well you know we have a very neutral attitude, we will work with the British government consistently to achieve the best outcomes for both nations, whether that's on the economic front, whether that's on the social front, we work incredibly closely together in a number of areas. Of course we've got health agreements, we a lot of our youngsters are educated in the United Kingdom at university, we spend a lot of money across on UK shores and you know we have a strong trading relationship as well. So there's there's a lot at stake and it's important that we have good working relations and one of our first jobs of course will be to get to know the relevant ministers, the new justice minister, anybody else appointed with interests that may have relevance to us and we will build those relationships and we will look to ensure that everybody has a good mutual understanding of both parties, both countries requirements and we will seek to build on that and I hope we will have strong working relationships and we've had good relationships indeed over the last decade or so with the Conservatives and I very much hope those will continue now with Labour. Well you mentioned the strength of those relationships there, does having a change in the governing party in the UK, do you think that will have an impact on your government going forward particularly sort of mid-term for yourselves? Well I hope not, I mean actually this is the fourth prime minister that's been in power since I've had my opportunity as chief minister, so the last three years this is our fourth prime minister, each one brings a slightly different tone, I hope that relationships will continue to remain consistently strong with the United Kingdom, as I said I mean there's always a period of settling in, of people betting in, new ministers trying to get on top of their brief, they undoubtedly will be people in senior positions who don't and won't know a lot about the Ironman and our position and our contribution and relationship with the UK, the UK economy, so there will be quite a bit to do in the next 12 months but I hope it'll be a smooth transition from our perspective, there are a few pressures around, we've got international tax changes coming forward, we're looking at changes around beneficial ownership, some of the technicalities but putting those aside, you know the key role for me and for others will be to explain our positioning, explain the economic relationship between the United Kingdom and the Ironman and obviously continue to promote our case as strong partners as part of the British family, particularly when we're looking at new international trade agreements and representations that take us further beyond these shores. Now the Ironman has very close links with the other Celtic nations, so what do you make of the fact that it's been a really really bad night for the SMPs? Well again I mean you know it's not really for me to comment on other political parties in the UK, I mean obviously my focus, the government's focus is on sure and the Ironman is properly represented and we build relationships as I say with whoever's in power, so you know for us now it's clear that Labor in Scotland is very much the dominant force, we of course retain close links with political parties across the spectrum and we try and maintain those relationships because it is important there is a widespread understanding of the Ironman's positioning and role and of course there is a lot of respect in the devolved administrations, mutual respect for what the Ironman has done but also for what is being achieved in Scotland and Wales in particular, so we will continue to build relationships and you know obviously I've met a few of these MPs and Scottish National Party MPs who've lost their seats and my heart goes out to them I know it's always a tough night for people when they are trying to win their constituencies over and don't succeed but yeah no we will build relationships obviously with the main parties but we won't ignore or set aside those relationships with other parties because often things change and you know we need to make sure that we're properly representing ourselves across the political spectrum. Well Chief Minister it does seem really quite strange on our national day to be focusing so much on UK politics so we are really grateful for you coming on to join us to give your reaction from an Isle of Man perspective obviously it's a huge story from overnight across the water there so that's just our attention back to the Isle of Man, Tim Walday, you've been there many times now over the years for several years as Treasury Minister and it's your third time as Chief Minister of the Isle of Man so are you looking forward to events today? Yeah always it's a very special time I think it's it's a time when we reflect and celebrate I suppose our uniqueness as an island all it's good all the values that we hold dear and of course remember that you know holding on to our sort of self-governing independence is very much part of our history our heritage then we've had a thousand years plus now of its home rule effectively and we must treasure that and continue to treasure it and Tim Walday really does signify that and puts those values puts that governance really firmly in mind and for all of us across the nation really I think it's a celebration of those values and the fact that we do have this special ability to govern ourselves and remain autonomous and you know we should celebrate that treasure that and of course within the ceremony we obviously have all history behind that so yes it is a very special day and we'll remain so thank you for making it to the end of the Manx Radio newscast you are obviously someone with exquisite taste may I politely suggest you might want to subscribe to this and a wide range of Manx Radio podcasts at your favourite podcast provider so our best bits will magically appear on your smartphone thank you (upbeat music) You
