What do you think about this ’Brexit’ thing?

If you are anything like me, you’ll be fed up with the whole exercise.

The way that I see things is to compare the UK’s efforts to try to leave the EEC, with you or me trying to convince a company, such as Screwfix, that the box of assorted screws that you ordered from them ten years ago, really was a one off, and no, thank you for asking, but I really do not want to receive a free copy of their latest catalogue.

A few years ago, the UK government asked their voters a simple question. Yes or no. Do you want the United Kingdom to continue to be a member of the EU or do you want to break away, cancel your subs and go your own way?

Now, to the average simple mind, that seems like an easy question to answer, and sure enough, the reply was loud and clear.

The voters said ’We want to leave.’

That then, you would think, should be that. The electorate had made their wishes clear, so now it was up to the politicians and the civil servants to start earning their money and sort out the details.

Both sides had agreed to go their own ways, so all that was left to do was to wander round the office, say goodbye to your mates and buy the pasties.

Sounds simple enough to me, so why not just get on with it?

Well, as anyone who is involved in anything to do with a government department will tell you, in plain language, nothing is simple.

Now I will readily admit that I know as much about the workings of the civil service as I know about quantum physics, and I do genuinely believe that the majority of the worthy folk who inhabit an ever-growing empire of offices and departments have the well being of the people that they serve as their top priority.

But sometimes it seems that things do not move along as fast as they should.

This slow progress has serious implications for the Isle of Man.

As we all know, the island is associated with the EU by way of the UK and something called the Treaty of Rome.

To be brief, this just means that we are obliged to follow the rules and do as we are told.

But one huge benefit for the island is that we can export our premier products of meat and fish to Europe without (as far as I know, that is) any trade barriers, and what is probably even more important to us is that there is no customs barrier between us and UK, which means that we can freely come and go as we wish.

Just imagine having to show your passport every time you left the island.

So what’s going on? Why the big hold up?

The referendum was more than two years ago, so you would think that the movers and shakers in Whitehall would have had things sorted out before now. But they’re keeping their heads down.

The backbench MPs are getting worried about the possibility of there being a general election before they take their summer holidays and the front benchers are getting worried about there not being a general election before the summer holidays.

So, will we or won’t we? I think that there is a fair chance that we will just scrape through, but time will tell.

As in everything we do, there will always be winners and losers. Prime Minister May will always be the loser in this game. Her friends will make sure of that.

Without a doubt, one thing is very clear. Mrs May will soon be out of a job and, for what it is worth, I wish her well in her retirement.

I’m sure she will surely miss her friends and colleagues. It is just too bad that it took so long to find out which were which.

I wonder if she would like a free copy of the Screwfix catalogue? I think I have one to spare.

A decade ago Pullyman - aka Michael Cowin - was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, a condition that affects people in different ways. Michael discovered writing and Island Life is featuring some of his musings. Sometimes topical, sometimes nostalgic, read about life as seen through the eyes of Pullyman