The United Kingdom benefits from the economic success of the Isle of Man and expects the Island to remain an attractive place to do business, according to Lord Bach, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the UK Ministry of Justice.
Lord Bach made the comments while addressing the Chief Minister’s International Lecture on November 18, 2009. Speaking to participants at the Hilton Hotel, Bach spoke about the positive outlook for Isle of Man’s economy:
"In the field of business I am sure its growth in an increasingly competitive environment will build upon the attributes it has developed over decades – specialist professional expertise, supportive and responsive government working with business, skilled workforce, excellent quality of life, world class telecoms infrastructure and sound financial regulation."
Referring to the Foot review, which highlighted financial flows between the Isle of Man and the UK of importance to both countries, Bach observed:
“The UK and the Isle of Man benefit from each other’s success and it is in the interests of the UK to see the Isle of Man do well.”
He also applauded the Island’s long-standing strategy of international engagement and noted that it "punches much above its weight" in respect of international developments in regulation, taxation and tackling financial crime.
"[The island’s] evident commitment to stay in line with rising international expectations on the regulation of your financial services industry – as well as your pace setting work on tax information exchange agreements – has certainly helped the UK’s position in the wider international debate on strengthening the global financial system."
Lord Bach noted that issues such as the revised revenue sharing arrangements had strained relations between the Isle of Man and the UK, but the underlying relationship remained strong, based as it was on a shared history and centuries of trade. He noted that the relationship had evolved from what some might have called a colonial model to one of partnership.
"I want to assure all in this island that the UK government does not have, in any shape of form, an anti-Crown Dependencies agenda. Our constitutional relationship works well and I am convinced it will continue to work well in the future. The Isle of Man government’s prudent approach to managing its finances, its continuing work to diversify the economy, and its good sense in building financial reserves during periods of economic growth, give a large measure of reassurance to the UK government that the fiscal and economic affairs of the Manx people are in safe hands," Bach concluded.
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