Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) British Islands and Mediterranean (BIM) Region attended the annual Regional Conference last week.

The 51^st CPA BIM Regional Conference, hosted by the Parliament of the Isle of Man (Tynwald) from 24 to 25 March 2022, focused on the theme of ‘Impactful Scrutiny’. Across the course of two days, the Acting CPA Chairperson, Hon. Ian Liddell-Grainger MP (UK) and more than 40 Parliamentarians and officials participated in a series of workshops around the Conference theme.

Sessions explored topics such as preparing new Members to scrutinise government decisions, delegated powers during COVID-19, the effective scrutiny of climate actions and diversity in Legislatures. Throughout, delegates acknowledged that scrutiny remained a core function in their role as a Parliamentarian and valued the ability to share experiences with one another from their respective jurisdictions.

At the opening of the Conference, delegates were welcomed by the Speaker of the House of Keys, Hon. Juan Watterson SHK, Joint President of the CPA Isle of Man Branch and CPA Small Branches Vice-Chair. The tone of the Conference was set from the outset by firmly placing the role of Parliamentarians in protecting parliamentary democracy against the current challenges from the global environment.

The Conference also enabled the Parliament of the Isle of Man, the oldest continuous parliament in the world, to showcase the features of its parliamentary system, including its unique form of tricameralism. The CPA Isle of Man Branch was formed in 1936 and, with a population of 85,000, is also a member of the CPA Small Branches network. In September 2021, the CPA BIM Region, for the first time, conducted an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to the Isle of Man General Election. The Mission conducted an independent assessment of the Isle of Man General Election against international legal standards, commitments, and obligations as well as domestic laws.

During the Conference, the Acting CPA Chairperson, met with representatives from the many CPA Branches in attendance including Scotland, Wales, Guernsey, Northern Ireland, Falkland Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Cyprus and the United Kingdom. At the CPA BIM Region Annual General Meeting, the Acting CPA Chairperson spoke about the ways that the CPA can support its Members:

“The tremendous convening power of the CPA, through its membership of over 17,000 Parliamentarians across over 180 national and sub-national Legislatures, presents Members and Clerks with a unique opportunity to benefit from extensive inter-parliamentary exchange. This is the great strength of the Association, and I am delighted to hear all the sharing of experiences and best practice between Members and jurisdictions during the Regional Conference. The CPA continuously explores ways to encourage this type of knowledge exchange through its many offerings, including Regional Conferences, and the CPA BIM Region is able to take advantage of all these.”

During the AGM, delegates elected Rt Hon. Maria Miller MP (UK), as the new Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) BIM Regional Representative and Chair of the CWP BIM Region Steering Committee. The Steering Committee also met on the margins of the Regional Conference to discuss the Network’s forthcoming business for the Region.

At the conclusion of the Regional Conference, Hon. Juan Watterson SHK, Joint President of the CPA Isle of Man Branch, said:

“It's been a pleasure for Tynwald to host the BIM Regional Conference on the sunny Isle of Man. The CPA is at its best when people are learning from each other, sharing ideas and solving mutual problems. Over an intensive two days we have looked at scrutiny in our jurisdictions with a critical eye, and covered themes from public finance to climate change. In the margins, there were discussions on diversity, health provision, COVID handling and the complexity of virtual meetings. It has been an intensive two days, and I hope our delegates have had as much learning, sharing and fun as we have.”

The CPA British Islands and Mediterranean Region is one of the nine Regions of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. It consists of thirteen legislatures, from the United Kingdom, one of the largest Legislatures in the Commonwealth, to Alderney, the smallest. The Regional Secretariat is based within the CPA UK Branch, and undertakes a number of programmes, including Election Observation Missions to Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories.

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The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association connects, develops, promotes and supports Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of the enduring values of the Commonwealth. The CPA is an international community of around 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.

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