The UK’s general election is to take place next month and its outcome will certainly affect us.

So will the outcome of whatever happens at the end of the Brexit process.

There are only 85,000 of us and our voice on the world stage is little more than a whisper.

However, I fundamentally disagree with Brian Matthews, who wrote in your letters pages recently arguing that people in the Isle of Man should be allowed to vote in UK general elections.

He rather misses the point of Manx nationality and our economy.

If we were to get a vote in the UK, we would be part of the UK.

We might just about have enough people to justify having one MP.

So we’d have one 650th of the total in the House of Commons.

Unless some sort of devolution agreement could be reached for certain powers (as they have in Scotland, Northern Irleand and Wales) we would have to dispense with Tynwald and more than 1,000 years of history.

In any case, it’s very unlikely that, even if Westminster allows Tynwald to continue, the authorities there would let us have our own taxes and duties.

So we’d pay UK income tax, capital gains tax, death duties and so on.

And, of course, we’d pay corporation tax.

So why would any of the finance sector stay here?

If they have to pay UK tax, they might as well be in the UK and avoid the transport costs and incovenience that the Irish Sea entails.

We’d be less attractive than most islands off the coast of Scotland because we’d actually be harder to get to.

So what would be left?

Mass tourism is a memory and will remain that way as long as it’s so easy to jet off to the Mediterranean.

Our mines are empty.

The old traditional trade of smuggling would raise an eyebrow or two in Westminster and further afield.

I suppose we might be able to fish for herring again.

But tens of thousands of us would have to leave the Land of Our Birth to make a living.

We’d have to hope that, as part of the UK, Westminster would pay for our roads, our schools, our pensions, our hospital and our airport. And not the unemployment benefit they’d have to pay out in greater and greater amounts for people here.

So it would not only not be in the interests of the Isle of Man to become a part of the UK, but it would be against the interests of the UK to take over the Isle of Man, which would soon become a burden rather than an asset.

So rather than lamenting the fact that you cannot vote for Mrs May, Mr Corbyn or Mr Farron, celebrate it.

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Your views on leak investigation

The government’s investigation into a leak to the Examiner about a disagreement between politicians at the Department of Health and Social Security has ended. But its outcome remains a secret.

Readers of iomtoday.co.im shared their views.

Shameful (again). One can but speculate just WHY this is so and can only conclude it is because what would be exposed that SHOULD be in the public domain.

Spook

Another truly excellent use of taxpayers’ money - for what purpose and for what result? Is the IOM one jot better for this expenditure?

Fell

How much did this cost in diverted resources and any outside expenditure (if applicable)? Whilst medical and surgical procedures are made unavailable.

Manx Pleb

Perhaps this investigation was aimed at putting the “frighteners” on IOM government employees to encourage them to keep their mouths shut? Whilst there are a few decent politicians there continues to be too much “smoke and mirrors” with weasel words from the majority, equally it appears there are a lot of decent staff who are increasingly disillusioned.

South of the Bridge