What is the House of Keys?

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 week on a Tuesday, apart from every third Tuesday each month when Tynwald takes its place and each sitting begins with questions, where MHKs can ask ministers pretty much anything, followed by ‘ordinary business’ where MHKs discuss legislation. Bills (which is the name for legislation before it becomes law) generally start in the House of Keys before moving to the Legislative Council. 

The House of Keys is the most powerful part of our Parliament, it sets the agenda, generally it's where Ministers come from, it selects and can remove the Chief Minister, it elects Members of the Legislative Council, and it can override the Legislative Council if it disagrees with it. 

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. 

This is just one in our series of short blogs explaining what the hell is happening on 24 September 2026. You can read the rest of the blogs here. 

If you’re planning to vote in the Isle of Man General Election - make sure you’re registered. You can register or find out if you are registered here. 

This is just one in our series of short blogs explaining what the hell is happening on 24 September 2026. You can read the rest of the blogs here.