The Legislative Council (Manx: Yn Choonceil Slattyssagh) is the upper chamber of Tynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man. The abbreviation "LegCo" is often used.^[1]

Quick Facts Legislative Council Yn Choonceil Slattyssagh, Type ...

Legislative Council Yn Choonceil Slattyssagh
Type
Type	Upper house of the Tynwald
Leadership
President	Laurence Skelly since 20 July 2021
Structure
Seats	11
Political groups	Independent (8)   Ex officio (3)
Elections
Voting system	Indirect election by the House of Keys
Meeting place
Chamber of the Legislative Council, Legislative Buildings, Douglas
Website
www.tynwald.org.im/council

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It consists of eleven members (MLCs):

• Eight members elected by the House of Keys
• Three ex officio members:
  • President of Tynwald, ex officio President of the Legislative Council (casting vote)
  • Bishop of Sodor and Man
  • Attorney General for the Isle of Man (non-voting)

Historically, most or all elected MLCs were former MHKs, but this practice has now much reduced or ceased.

Formerly, the Lieutenant Governor presided over the Legislative Council and over Tynwald Court (a joint session of the Council and the House of Keys). Now, however, the President of Tynwald, who is chosen by the whole Tynwald for a five-year term, is the ex officio President of the Legislative Council, and presides over both the Legislative Council and Tynwald Court, except that the Lieutenant Governor presides once a year on Tynwald Day.

Furthermore, the Church of England Bishop of Sodor and Man and the Attorney General have seats on the Legislative Council. The Bishop is a voting member, the Attorney General is a non-voting member, and the President has the casting vote.

The Council does not usually originate legislation^{[citation needed]}; most of the time, it reviews draft legislation originating in the House of Keys. However, it is possible for legislation to originate in the Council: a recent example is the Equality Act 2017.^[2][3]

The MLCs are elected by the members of the House of Keys for a term of five years. Four MLCs retire at a time, and four new MLCs are then elected. An MLC must be at least 21 years old and resident in the Isle of Man. Historically the election procedure has been cumbersome, and on some occasions in recent years the election has required many ballots, stretching over a period of weeks or even months. However the Standing Orders of the House of Keys regarding the election of MLCs were amended on 4 April 2017, and a relevant Guidance Note was issued by the Speaker of the House of Keys in June 2017. In 2018, only one ballot was required, although some felt that that was at the cost of allowing members to vote for an excessive number of candidates (one member voted for 13 candidates out of 15 and another for 11).^[4][5]

A motion was proposed in the Keys on 28 January 2020, shortly before the 2020 MLC election, which would have prevented MHKs voting for more candidates than there are places to be filled, but this was rejected.

In 2020, again only one ballot was required, and members voted for an average of about 4 candidates each. In 2023, again only one ballot was required, and members voted for an average of about 5 candidates each.

For many years there has been considerable debate about the functioning of Tynwald, and specifically about the composition, method of election, and functions of the Legislative Council. In the past, a number of reforms were made in the composition of the Legislative Council, which are set out below. In 2016 Lord Lisvane was asked to carry out a review of the functioning of Tynwald.^[6] Among his recommendations were:

• Members of the Legislative Council should continue not to be directly elected, but instead should be nominated by an independent Nominations Commission to the House of Keys. No sitting MHK could be nominated.
• The Legislative Council should not vote on taxation or appropriation.
• Only exceptionally should MLCs be ministers.
• The Bishop should continue as an ex officio voting member of the Legislative Council.

However there has been little action to implement these recommendations.

The Lieutenant Governor was removed as Presiding Officer of Tynwald and replaced by a member of Tynwald elected by the Members of the High Court of Tynwald as President of Tynwald. (Currently only MHKs are electors.) The President of Tynwald is also a member of the Legislative Council and presides at its sittings. The members are thus:

• President of Tynwald
• Attorney General
• Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Eight members elected by the House of Keys

The non-ex officio members are elected by the House of Keys for terms which end at the end of February immediately before the fifth anniversary of their election.