Peter Karran (born 20 May 1960) is a Manx politician, who is a former leader of the Liberal Vannin Party and former Minister of Education and Children. He was a

Member of the House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in La ...

for

Middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

, and then for

Onchan Onchan (; ) is a large village in the parish of Onchan (parish), Onchan on the Isle of Man. It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Administratively a district, it has the second largest population of settlements on the island, after Douglas, Isl ...

, from 1985 to 2016. He was a member of the

Manx Labour Party The Manx Labour Party is a political party on the Isle of Man that was founded in 1918. Policies The Manx Labour Party published a manifesto of policies in 2021. It proposed increasing government spending on education to a minimum of 4% of GD ...

from 1981 but left in 2004. In August 2006 he founded the Liberal Vannin Party and became its first leader.

Career

Karran worked as a

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

. He stood for election in

in the 1981 Manx general election but was not elected. In 1985 he contested a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in Middle and was elected, becoming the youngest ever elected Member in the House of Keys. In the 1986 general election, Karran contested

and was elected. He repeated his success in Onchan in general elections in 1986, 1991, 1996,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. He has been very popular ever since, topping the

polls at most elections. (In 2006 he received more votes than any other candidate for the Keys: partly because Onchan was one of the few three-seat constituencies and so there were more votes available.) He was a

member (and one of their two MHKs) but left the party in 2004. In August 2006 he founded the Liberal Vannin Party (LVP) and became its first leader. From 2011 to 2012 Karran served as the Minister of Education and Children under

Allan Bell Allan Robert Bell (born 20 June 1947) is a Manx politician who was the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man from 2011 until 2016, having been elected to that position on 11 October 2011. He was an Independent Member of the House of Keys for Ra ...

; however he was removed from the position for opposing the position of the Council of Ministers on the film industry. In February 2014, Karran renounced the leadership of the LVP in favour of

Kate Beecroft Kathleen Joan "Kate" Costain (née Beecroft) is a Manx politician who is a former Leader of the Liberal Vannin Party and was a Member of the House of Keys for Douglas South from 2011 to 2020. She changed her surname from Beecroft to Costain i ...

MHK. Karran said that it "was time for a change". Around April 2016, Karran announced he would be standing down from the Keys after 31 years in Manx politics.

Controversy

Karran has been highly critical of the Manx Government, for example about

Mount Murray Mount Murray is a hill above sea level on the Isle of Man located at the northern end of Santon, near the boundaries with Marown and Braddan parishes. It is named after Lord Henry Murray, 4th Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. Often ...

gate. He was criticised by many people on the island when he announced the closure of all of the island's government-run preschools. His election campaign was based around the protection of frontline services in the Isle of Man, and the school closures were seen as a direct contradiction to that.

Electoral performance

Karran contested several elections, first for the

and later for the Liberal Vannin Party.

House of Keys elections

Note: Throughout the relevant period the Onchan constituency elected three MHKs and each elector was entitled to three votes. Thus for example achieving 28.1% of the vote might mean that anything up to 84.3% of the electors may have voted for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karran, Peter Living people 1960 births British political party founders Liberal Vannin Party politicians Members of the House of Keys 1981–1986 Members of the House of Keys 1986–1991 Members of the House of Keys 1991–1996 Members of the House of Keys 1996–2001 Members of the House of Keys 2001–2006 Members of the House of Keys 2006–2011