MHK believes Tynwald's summer recess is too long

Every year parliament breaks from July until October

Is Tynwald's summer recess too long?

Despite admitting it's a good chance to get things done, one MHK believes it is.

Every year, the Isle of Man's parliament breaks for summer - with the last sitting taking place in the third week of July.

It then doesn't resume until the third Tuesday of October, three months later.

The House of Keys then starts the following week and sits weekly until the end of June with breaks for Christmas, Easter and TT.

No one knows exactly why it's so long - some believe it stems back to when many members were farmers and were too busy with the harvest to meet, others say it's just how it's always been.

Broadly speaking though, this pattern for Tynwald Court has officially been in place since 1946 while for Keys it's been since 1931.

If we look at our neighbouring jurisdictions though, Jersey, Guernsey, the UK and Ireland all have breaks that start in July and end in September.

And while Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK, Tim Glover, says the break can be a good time to get things done, ours is too long in comparison:

This isn't the first time someone has suggested reducing the length of the summer recess.

Back in 2017, then Middle MHK Bill Shimmins brought the topic to Tynwald, suggesting the court return in September.

His motion failed though, as did an amended version he brought to Keys the following week.

In 2023, the Standing Orders Committee of Tynwald published a report suggesting the House of Keys should sit from the final week of September to allow for breaks at other points of the year.

While the Legislative Council supported this, MHKs didn't, and therefore the motion didn't pass.

Someone who has seen things from all sides of the political spectrum is our political correspondent Phil Gawne, who was an MHK for 13 years and also served as a minister of multiple departments.

He says it's one of the few times in the year politicians can actually stop and think:

So, it may not be quite as clear cut as it initially seems. 

And for anything to change, it'd have to come from Tynwald members themselves.