It was reported only days ago that my comments on the Politics Show about the Isle of Mn and its VAT arrangements were to be the subject of questions in the Tynwald (Manx Parliament).

Now the order paper has been published and it would seem the focus has changed. This question is typical:

2. The Hon Member for Michael (Mr Cannan) to ask the Chief Minister —
(1) Whether he will confirm that in past years the Revenue Sharing Arrangements of the Common Purse Agreement have been weighted in favour of the Isle of Man and that the United Kingdom has now taken action to rectify or correct the situation;
(2) whether he will confirm the Revenue Sharing arrangements are now correctly apportioned and that there will be no further adjustment in calculation; and
(3) whether it had previously occurred to the Treasury Minister and Treasury officials that the present ratio of direct taxation (£160M) to indirect taxation (£399M) was suspect and whether this fact had been reported to the Council of Ministers?

This is also indicative:

8. The Hon Member for Onchan (Mr Karran) to ask the Minister for the Treasury -
(1) Who authorised the signing of the “Arrangements for the Sharing of Common Duties” by a Treasury official on 15th October 2009, recently published on the Government website;
(2) when the “Arrangements for the Sharing of Common Duties” was signed on 15th October 2009 whether the financial consequences of the agreement were fully appreciated;
(3) if the financial consequences of the “Arrangements for the Sharing of Common Duties” were fully appreciated, why Tynwald was not officially informed of the financial consequences before the agreement was signed;
(4) in view of the financial impact on the Island, if he considers that an informal briefing to some Tynwald Members on 14th October (ie one day before the document was signed) gives adequate notice to Tynwald Members of the revised arrangements;
(5) on what date the Common Purse Agreement update of 24th October 2007 was renewed/extended and whether this preceded or came after the “Arrangements for the Sharing of Common Duties” signed on 15th October 2009; and
(6) if he will supply Tynwald Members with full details of the 2009 update of the Common Purse Agreement?

There’s no mention of the BBC, me or the Politics Show.

Could it be the Members have realised that their ire should be aimed at the people whop conned them and the people of the Isle of Man all along — that is their own government who, in typical Manx fashion hid behind secrecy, non-disclosure and obfuscation to deny the glaringly obvious — that they had been subsidised all along? It certainly looks that way to me.