Trick or Trump?

This week marks the first serious media campaign by Fresh Start Isle of Man the not quite political party, not quite political association and not quite political think-tank being linked to the recent call to arms of former Middle MHK Chris Robertshaw. It's a sort of loose political concept that declares that it wants to "be a cooperative of good, principled, capable candidates - people who support each other, challenge the status quo, and bring real leadership to Tynwald" Nothing to argue about so far - and undeniably this Island needs a proper platform for political change as another General Election approaches. Especially when the only 2026 political platform contenders so far are the high tax loving Liberal Vannin Party which had some real teeth and credibility 15 years ago via its association with firebrand Onchan MHK Peter Karran. But which now appears to draw its inspiration from VHS re-runs of The Last of the Summer Wine where a handful of curmudgeonly English pensioners spend each week devising new ways to force the Island's under sixty population to want to leave and never come back. Or the Manx Labour Party, a party which the writers of this Blog respect, but which collectively appears far too obsessed with the current situation in Gaza to have the energy or bandwidth to deliver any effective solutions for the people of the Isle of Man.

And before we start we are all for balance so lets get some negatives out of the way too as if Robertshaw is its inspiration his true politics are probably slightly to the right of Nigel Farage, and he likely has a gaudy gold Trump shrine hidden under a dusty sheet in his garage, but for a man of his age and experience he does have a certain level of political astuteness and insight in relation to Manx politics that is desperately needed at this time. And from what he has said so far it is unlikely that he is doing anything as a platform for himself in an attempt to stay relevant but, like many others, sees how the Island is failing to deliver for his children or grandchildren and that the tipping point has now almost gone too far.

Only time will tell on this on this movement but we wish this political cooperative all the best and will be happy to support and re-post as things progress - because from what he has said so far Robertshaw is fundamentally right and the situation the Island now finds itself in is bordering on intolerable and something needs to change before the situation is completely irretrievable. And this co-op may well be the battering ram that Manx politics needs to break us out of the current IOM Government doom spiral of collective failure. Fresh Start will hopefully be a platform for some honest reflection and robust debate as the General Election approaches - which is needed now more than ever and which other party's and platforms are continually failing to deliver.

View Robertshaw's original YouTube statement is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7tDp-z6zoY

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https://fearandloathing2021.wixsite.com/website