Other than having the world’s oldest continuous parliament, another striking aspect of Manx politics is its lack of parties.

In the UK, the political landscape is very much dominated by parties and traditionally it has been a two-horse race between Labour and the Conservatives.

The Lib Dems have flirted with power, while the likes of the SNP and Plaid Cymru have played significant roles in Scotland and Wales respectively.

The Green Party also has a presence in parliament and now the likes of Reform are pushing hard.

But the island is very different.

There are parties, but the vast majority of MHKs are independent.

There is the Manx Labour Party (MLP) and Liberal Vannin, but both have only four candidates standing at this election, leaving them no chance of a controlling majority.

There have been further moves to introduce party politics.

Intriguingly, a new party referring to itself as The Change Movement has quietly fielded more candidates than the two established parties, with five standing. The party aims to abolish CoMin, replace MLCs with a ‘People’s House’ and ‘end mass migration’.

Even more mysterious is the sudden appearance of Transform Isle of Man, which has two candidates standing in the same constituency of Douglas Central. However, there appears to be no website and little information about the policies they stand for.

Meanwhile, local businessman Mitch Sorbie had hoped to field at least 13 candidates with his Isle of Man First party, but was unable to meet that target and will wait to see what happens at the next election.

There is also the Isle of Man Green Party, which was established ten years ago. It has a significant presence at local government level but has not fielded any candidates for this year’s General Election.

The lack of party politics on the island tends to bring an almost parish-pump feel to the national scene.

It also means there is no coherent set of policies the electorate can get behind. Instead, that is only moulded once the Council of Ministers is formed.

In a recent Examiner column, political commentator Alistair Ramsay said: ‘Given the size of the constituencies, and the absence of a party system, the focus of debate has traditionally been more on local considerations than on national policy priorities.’

Instead of focusing on the national policies in the manifesto of a given party, we are looking at whether a candidate can help sort out the bins or potholes - something which is more the responsibility of local commissioners or the council.

It also means personality is so much more important. A significant number of us will know at least one candidate personally, or know someone who does.

Many will pick a candidate because they seem ‘nice’ rather than whether they will deliver fiscal prudence and reform healthcare.

‘Personality has always been more potent than policy in small communities where voters often know, or know of, the candidates,’ Mr Ramsay said.

‘As many new residents have found, if you don't have this personal knowledge of the candidates, it can be a challenge to tell the difference between them.’

But it is also more exciting in a way. Our choice is not binary. It is not simply a choice of right versus left. The UK’s first-past-the-post system means many votes mean little in areas deemed safe seats.

In the Isle of Man, it is more of a free-for-all, which means your vote, perhaps, matters just that little bit more.

So what do members of the parties which do exist over here have to say?

A Liberal Vannin spokesperson said: ‘Despite the clamour for change in some social media groups, there is considerable apathy / disinterest on the Island for anything to do with achieving political change, and a genuine suspicion of anything to do with party politics.

‘The problem with so-called ‘Independent’ MHKs is that they can’t deliver anything they put in their manifestos, unless they get agreement from at least half of the other MHKs that got elected with them.

‘They all have their own personal agendas which may or may not make any sense. By and large they got voted in because more people recognised their name than the names of the other candidates.’

The spokesperson admits the party will not have enough MHKs to form a government but says it can still make a difference.

‘Realistically we are unlikely to be in a position to put up enough candidates to form a government,’ they said.

‘But we can elect enough to influence government thinking and create the conditions for change that many Manx residents are crying out for.’

The MLP believes party politics still plays a role in the House of Keys and Tynwald.

A spokesperson said: ‘Some people suggest political parties do not exist on the Isle of Man but nothing could be further from the truth. The MLP was established over 100 years ago and, apart from a very short time, it has been represented in Tynwald consistently since.

‘We believe our policies and individual manifestos provide a clear choice for voters and we have traditionally worked with others to make progress, recognising the majority of those elected are independents.

‘This approach can consist of scrutiny of CoMin to a number of our members taking departmental or ministerial office in the cabinet of previous administrations.

‘As a result we have been able to make real progress on the field of play rather than simply ‘shouting from the sidelines’.’

The spokesperson says the MLP has had a presence in Manx politics since 1919.

‘For much of the 20th century labour led the way on issues such as poverty, low pay, housing, social inequality, pensions, unemployment and workers’ rights, they said.

As it stands, no one party is fielding anywhere near the 13 candidates who would need to be successful in order to form a government.