Chris Thomas hints he will keep Christian and Poole-Wilson in his cabinet

Chris Thomas, the island’s new Chief Minister, has indicated that he hopes to keep Claire Christian as Health Minister and Jane Poole-Wilson as Home Affairs Minister as he begins assembling his cabinet.

Speaking to Energy FM’s Manx.News shortly after MHKs elected him on Tuesday 13 October, Mr Thomas said both roles involved work that had to continue. “Health care is a job that needs carrying on,” he said, adding that Home Affairs, with its MONEYVAL responsibilities, was in the same position. “So I have given you two clues there!”

MONEYVAL is the Council of Europe body that assesses jurisdictions’ measures against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Mr Thomas said he would hold talks with MHKs over the coming days and hoped the new Council of Ministers would be meeting by the end of this week or the start of next.

Treasury decision

One of his most closely watched choices will be his replacement as Treasury Minister, the post he held in the last administration. Manx.News noted that the economy had been a major focus of both the September general election campaign and the contest for Chief Minister.

The Council of Ministers will have to include some first-term members. According to Manx.News, just nine MHKs have sat in the House of Keys before. One of them, David Ashford, is Speaker and cannot sit in the cabinet. BBC News reported that 15 of the 24 MHKs returned in September were newcomers.

Mr Thomas told the BBC his immediate priority was to appoint ministers on merit and then bring the team together to agree priorities. He pledged to deliver the “mandate for change” voters had given in the election. “I build teams well, and encourage learning and encourage teamwork,” he said.

According to the BBC, the Douglas Central MHK entered the Keys at a by-election in 2013. Since then he has served as a minister with responsibility for policy and reform and for infrastructure, and he was most recently in charge of the Treasury.

Jenkins vote

Mr Thomas beat Kirrie Jenkins, the first-term MHK for Arbory, Castletown and Malew, by 16 votes to six in the first round, with two spoilt ballots. He was the only candidate in the confirmatory vote that followed, and he received 22 votes. Ms Jenkins and Stephen Broad, the Ayre and Michael MHK who seconded her nomination, voted against.

Asked whether he would offer his rival a post, Mr Thomas told Manx.News the pair had spoken warmly of each other. But he added: “I couldn’t help but notice that she voted against my eventual election and that was disappointing.” He said he had hoped all 24 members would back him and wanted to understand more about her thinking.

Ms Jenkins told the BBC she was not disappointed by the result and would keep pressing on the economy, one of the main themes of her campaign. “It’s very clear we have got to get our finances, our economy, back on track,” she said.