NEWS AND BLOGS

The House of Keys is a part of the Isle of Man’s parliament - Tynwald. We don’t like to make this comparison but if you’re unfamiliar, it’s broadly similar to the UK’s House of Commons (down to the green seats). It is made up of 24 members, who represent 12 areas across the Isle of Man, these are called constituencies. The House of Keys along with the other part of the Isle of Man’s Parliament, the Legislative Council, forms Tynwald. The House of Keys meets in public each w

Ok, so the election has just happened, we have a new Chief Minister and a Council of Ministers but what the hell are their policies? This might sound like a stupid question but it’s actually a totally legitimate one. How does your MHKs manifesto, that talked about bins, dog poo and the joy of the brass band translate into health, education and transport policy? In other countries like Scotland or Ireland, the government will often be formed of a single party or a coalition

It's 24 September (election day), you have your polling card (basically a letter telling you that you can vote) or your postal vote. Great. If you’re voting in person, you’ll do it at a place called a Polling Station. There will be details of where yours are on your polling card. You can vote at any polling station in your area (constituency) but remember if you live in Castletown and your friend lives in Douglas you won’t be voting at the same place - so don’t try. If ther

Who you vote for is your decision and yours alone. You can just vote for someone based on vibes but we would recommend that you look at their positions on issues that matter to you and see if you agree with them. Ahead of an election candidates will generally publish something called a ‘manifesto’ setting out what they hope to achieve when they get elected. These often include a mixture of local and national issues and its important to remember that you can hold successful ca

Once the Chief Minister is chosen (see our blog on that here), it’s up to them to select who they want to serve in their Council of Ministers. Ministers are essentially responsible for setting the direction of a government department, like Health or Infrastructure and are ultimately responsible if things go wrong. The Isle of Man can have up to 9 ministers (not including the CM). Right now, in addition to the Chief Minister there are Ministers for: the Cabinet Office, Justic

This series of blogs will explain what the hell is actually happening on 24 September and how you can get involved on voting day.

The role of Chief Minister is not directly elected (meaning you don't get to vote for them); instead, they are elected by at least 13 MHKs at a vote in the House of Keys. Following a General Election , interested MHKs will declare their candidacy for the role. Candidates need to publish a statement accompanying their nomination papers but increasingly, candidates will also publish a glitzy ‘Chief Minister Manifesto’ setting out what they would do if they get the top job, and

Everyone in the Isle of Man who is over the age of 16, has been resident in the Isle of Man for more than a year and is resident at an address in the Isle of Man is entitled to vote in the Isle of Man’s general election. It’s your choice whether you make use of that right or not. No one can make you vote if you don’t want to and if you choose not to vote that is entirely your choice, the people that are elected as your MHKs (Members of the House of Keys) still represent you

The Chief Minister (in Manx: Ard-hirveishagh) is the Isle of Man’s ‘Prime Minister’ and is our equivalent to (as of time of writing this) Kier Starmer, Anthony Albanese or Mark Carney. Whilst technically more of a Chairperson, they are effectively the boss of the Isle of Man Government and are responsible for setting the agenda for the Isle of Man. They head up the Council of Ministers (the Isle of Man’s cabinet) and represent the Isle of Man internationally, quite often serv

(Insert Hilarious Joke Here) If you ask this question on Facebook or Twitter you’ll be met with a range of incredibly witty responses. If you ask an MHK, they’d probably say ‘deal with emails’. But fundamentally, an MHK is responsible for representing you and other people in your area in our Parliament. They are meant to serve as your voice; they may not always agree with you, but they are there to represent you. Day to day in the House of Keys or Tynwald, they are respons

So you’re thinking of standing as an MHK? Very cool. We’re not joking, we actually do think it’s a cool thing to do. We will have a blog on what it is actually like to stand coming out soon but in terms of the actual process in order to stand for election to the House of Keys you need to meet a few criteria: be 18 years old, be a British citizen or have the right to remain in the Island, have been ordinarily resident in the Isle of Man for at least five years (or periods

On Thursday 24 September, the Isle of Man is holding its General Election. Every 5 years, everyone in the Isle of Man who is over the age of 16 and has been resident in the Isle of Man for more than a year has the chance to vote on the people who will represent them in the House of Keys (the Isle of Man’s parliament) for the next five years. In a General Election, you are voting to elect two people to represent your area (or constituency). These people sit in the House of Ke

he Manx language is one of the most important markers of Manx national identity, underpinning much of our culture, music and place-names, and linking us to our Celtic neighbours. The revival of Manx from near-extinction is rightly seen as a major achievement which has attracted worldwide attention to the Isle of Man and has been an inspiration to many other minority language communities.

On 17 April, the UK Government informed the Isle of Man Government that the UK’s Ministry of Justice was not prepared to grant Royal Assent for the Assisted Dying Bill at this time.

If you haven't come across the term 'National Populism' in recent years you will have certainly seen it playing out in the news, on social media and, unfortunately, very likely in daily conversations in the Isle of Man. National Populism is defined as " a nationalist political ideology that aims to mobilize popular support by emphasizing … national identity and the promotion of national interests, often highlighting sovereignty, culture and traditions ." Sound familiar? It

The news that the Assisted Dying Bill is still waiting for Royal Assent, nine months after the Manx parliament passed the legislation, should be concerning to even the most ardent supporter of our current constitutional set-up.

When we first spoke with Charles Kergaravat two and a half years ago we set out to bring the hashtag Isle of Man into the InterCeltic Business Forum. In 2023 our conversations got a few people interested. In 2024 we managed to drum up enough interest and support from Business IOM to co-ordinate and achieve a Manx delegation at the main Summer Forum event . In 2025 there was a full a blown Manx contingent in attendance at the Forum's Summer gathering at Lorient. Plus, for th

This is a guest post for Reayrtys by Joe O’Hanlon, a lawyer originally from Northern Ireland and now working in Dublin, who has an interest in the constitutional frameworks of small, self-governing countries like the Isle of Man. Some commentators on Manx politics, like Alistair Ramsey, have argued that there is a democratic deficit in the Manx political system . With few exceptions, members of the House of Keys are elected as independents; voters in elections to the House of

It’s nearly four years overdue, but the Isle of Man finally has an international - or ‘Global’ - relations strategy. This is something Reayrtys has l ong been pushing the Government for so we certainly welcome the creation of a strategy document, approved by Tynwald. But the devil is in the detail - has it been worth the wait? We’ve taken an initial review and the tl;dr summary is: there’s some strong and good sentiment framing the jobs to be done, which we welcome. When i

Reayrtys Co-Founder, Simon Collister, spoke on a panel at the Institute of Directors Isle of Man's fascinating annual influence dinner last week. It was an illustrious panel with thought-leaders from on- and off the island which, in turn, generated a wide-ranging and thoroughly thought-provoking series of discussions. The IoD Isle of Man published a great run-down of the main themes explored: Need to create a clear, overarching vision for the Isle of Man The economic and p

Guest post written by Dr Erin McNulty // Dr Éirinn Nic An Ultaigh, Research Associate at the Gaelic Connect Project, University of...

This week (22 April) brought a rare win for the Government, transforming a decaying landmark into 37 new flats and breathing life back into a part of central Douglas through the MDC’s Thie Clag scheme.

70% of Manx public wants greater autonomy, new research shows

Despite what many may assume, your local commissioner does not exercise any authority over road repair, the police, healthcare or schools

The Isle of Man Government has announced it's appointed a new Executive Director to lead its External Relations. This news is certainly...