There will be no sitting of the House of Keys or Legislative Council today due to Tynwald being on break for Easter, similarly to schools.
Although the House of Keys may at times heckle like children in a classroom, they are in-fact adults in full-time employment.
So why are they on half term? A very good question, and one we shall answer.
Tynwald on Half Term
The sitting dates are laid down in the Standing Orders of Tynwald and the House of Keys.
The Clerk of Tynwald told Manx.News that “these Standing Orders are amended from time to time but have been in place essentially in their present form since 1931 (Keys) and 1946 (Tynwald)”.
However, school holidays are not officially recognised in the Standing Orders, and unlike schools, Tynwald and Keys do not have a half-term break in either October or February.
Historic Reasons
Echoing the Clerk of Tynwald, the Speaker of the House of Keys, Juan Watterson MHK said: “The reason is historic.”
He said: “The pattern of sittings for Keys and Tynwald goes back to 1931 for the Keys and 1946 for Tynwald, and are set out in Standing Orders.
“It has been reviewed in recent years, and Members voted not to align school holidays and Tynwald sittings, when a proposal was brought before Tynwald.
“The idea was to be able to attract a more diverse range of candidates, such as those with young children.
Speaker of the House of Keys, Juan Watterson MHK
“Happily, despite this misalignment we have more parents with young children than ever.
“There are options for additional sittings if they are needed, due to an urgent matter or to progress legislation. These have been used in recent years.”
Easter Break
The Easter break normally involves two non-sitting weeks.
However, for 2025 there is only one sitting week which is a consequence of the way the days have fallen this year.
This year the first day of April being a Tuesday and Easter being later than usual.
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