Tynwald approves cut in Douglas Council’s membership and wards

There’ll be six fewer councillors representing Douglas next year, after Tynwald approved an order this week (April 9) to reduce the authority’s membership.

The council will now have 12 rather than 18 seats for the 2020 local authority elections, in a move that’s been backed by local and national politicians.

The number of wards in the borough will also be cut from six to four, to ‘match up’ with the constituencies used for national elections in the capital.

Council Leader David Christian said the move should pave the way for fairer representation, by addressing discrepancies in the population numbers of the  different wards.

A separate order was also brought forward in Tynwald for an inquiry to be launched into the reduction of Port St Mary Commissioners membership by 2020.

The southern local authority wants to cut its numbers from nine down to five.