Mercenary

Manx Care budget has gone up significantly though, it's one of the biggest items on the tax bill (over 1/3rd of discretionary spend) and it's been going up well over 6% per year for the last 5 years. Adult services spend has doubled in 5 years Mental health service spend gone up 50% in 5 years CEO office big numbers last couple of years and still up 210% this year on 5 years ago Nobles (approx half of total) spend up 40% in 5 years Patient transport largely the same Primary healthcare up 7% in 5 years So the privatised GP/pharmaceutical side has clearly been squeezed, whilst the rest of the health service has ballooned. And the more admin spend clearly hasn't translated into cost control. To me the issue isn't that they're cutting services to meet costs (it's not tenable to have year on year MC increases well in excess of inflation), it's that they've got to month 10 of the financial year and realised they've ran out of money and therefore cuts have a much more significant impact on patient care and outcomes then properly planned measures.

What realistically are they whistleblowing though, that would be protected? There isn't necessarily anything unsafe or illegal, they are "just" cutting operational services. (Just for clarification I still support Moggies posting of the information)

"I’m not a one-trick pony, I’m not a 10-trick pony. I've got a whole field of ponies, waiting to literally run towards this"

Should you not then 'update your priors'? If Christian was everyone's favourite, business minded straight-talking politician before, then what's changed other than now she's a Minister? The politicians are real people trying their best - they are just hard problems with no easy answers, and it will take them time to get to grips with a department like DHSC.

Didn't think it was the same people, just the cabins from Glen Helen had been bought (but could be wrong)

Elitist but high bailiff couldn't get in?

Not all parking is the same. Lord Street is not exactly 'reinvigorating the high street', it's just subsidising commuters who would rather risk a few scrapes then pay for contract parking.

I don't fully agree with Tinpot on parking, but I would say that the majority of spaces lost are surely Gaiety and further (all the way down to the terminus end), where 'shoppers' don't park anyway (just look at Chester Street) and there are generally a fair number of spaces. The town end seems roughly the same area of parking allotted (whether spaces are bigger these days as cars are I'm not sure) On the Christmas parking, obviously there is more demand in Christmas and also the walkway's used less. The old Promenade is still on Google so you can reminisce easily (to me the old Prom looks/feels like a 'ring road' in a medium sized city centre in the UK)...

If I'm Tinpot that must make you @John Wright

Says on the article it's 1.8km of wall (with some walkway works also), in 2015 prices. The £900k current Douglas wall scheme is 500m, which would equate to £3.2m for the same length as the £10m Morecambe scheme (probably if the Promenade included walkway works it would be a similar amount). So I'm not sure that backs up your case?

Yes removing the trams and a couple of other elements would probably have shaved off £5m

Walkway is a different scheme? Wall was a different scheme? https://bdaily.co.uk/articles/2015/10/29/historic-morecambe-promenade-set-for-10m-makeover £10m for some wall and a bit of walkway in Morecambe. Projects cost money, doing anything with a 1.5 mile 30 metre wide promenade will cost a substantial amount.

Seems pointless arguing as you've made your mind up but they are two different projects with different aims? What are you proposing instead? If anything Douglas/the Island needs more investment not less. You have places like Ullapool (pop. 1500) investing £10m in a sea wall/marina, Guernsey spending £11m on a football stadium, etc etc. Whereas here all public funds are being funneled into PS wages/health care

Reportedly less than £30m? But it's about right for the length and amount of works undertaken if you compare to UK schemes. I don't think they should have done the full length and instead should focused on Sea Terminal to War Memorial only, but then the political side probably wouldn't accept this and there would be issues with utilities & horse trams.

I disagree, there are areas that could be better & obviously the walkway looks tired, but overall it looks pretty good.