Amid the political stagnation and inequality that engulfs the British Isles and the lunacy and preposterous notion of a United States of Europe lies a small diamond that is easily overlooked as it tends to keep very quiet and selfishly enjoy it’s good fortune.

It is just 32 miles long and a mere 15 at the widest point and contains around 76,000 inhabitants. It boasts the oldest continuous parliamentary system in the world dating back to 979 AD and, whilst having political parties, tends to always choose independent representatives.

It is not a member of the United Kingdom but is a Crown Dependancy with the UK being responsible for its defence and external representation. It makes its own laws and – here’s a good bit – sets and collects its own taxes which are much, much lower than in the UK. It also has it’s own currency fixed at 1:1 with the UK pound.

It is also not a member of the European Union but has an agreement to enable it to trade with the EU as if it were a member but to ignore the rest of the garbage that the EU forces upon it’s member states, including budgetary contributions.

It is, on the whole, very beautiful and whilst it perhaps suffers a little more rain than much of the UK, its geographic position places it plum in the middle of the Gulf Stream which allows its mean temperatures to be a little higher than elsewhere. Indeed I have spent a week there in January in warm and pleasant sunshine.

It is, of course, the Isle of Man.

Oh yes. I have been there twice and driven along all of the major and minor roads and I didn’t see one speed camera.