The reshuffle was unexpected - what does it mean for the general election?

The shock announcement first thing on Monday morning that the chief minister was carrying out a ministerial reshuffle was a surprise to ministers as well as the general public.

Sacking the treasury minister, Alex Allinson, a month before the budget announcement is nothing if not a bold move by Chief Minister Alfred Cannan, but it went further, as the infrastructure minister Michelle Haywood was also asked to step down - taking them both by surprise.

And it is not just the budget that looms on the horizon, as a House of Keys general election lurks not too far away in September.

But what does a shake-up like this mean for these key dates and why is it important?

Unlike previous reshuffles in the Cannan administration - and there have been a few - the timing of this one makes it stand out.

While the general election is eight months away, the final Tynwald sitting of the political year takes place in July, shortening the remaining time to get things voted through politically to a mere six months.

• Minister removed to allow economic 'reset'
• Firms welcome pledge to change economic approach

In the immediate aftermath of such an announcement, there has been a raft of responses from campaigners, lobbying groups, as well as political commentary, with many praising the move.

That is because Cannan has in one morning taken two issues facing swathes of criticism in the community and removed them, replacing those at the helm of such decisions with members of the House of Keys that directly oppose the former direction of travel.

While Haywood had been working for months, with a region-by-region roll out of 20mph (32km/h) speed limits in urban areas, her replacement Tim Crookall has said a "pause" of that scheme will be his "week one priority".

Similarly, as Alex Allinson worked on his February budget speech and moved forward with plans to increase the Manx minimum wage, his replacement Chris Thomas said he will take a "slower approach", effectively putting the brakes on plans under public scrutiny.

But while the motives to pause controversial policies already in train are clear, the chief minister has not only admitted it, but has made no apology for it.

"We are following policies and pathways that are clearly causing a lot of angst and that's been some of the reasoning that I've put behind the decision," he said.

"I'm not a dictator, I work under collective responsibility, I'm the chief minister of a varied group of individuals all with their own agendas."

He went on to say that in his role, "you have to put your own views and ethics at the top of the tree and top of the list when you're assessing the performance of government and the policies that are being pursued".

Cannan said the timing was "right" and it gave the government a chance to "reset and refresh" before the start of the next financial year.

Typically in the months before a general election, there is a lot of good old-fashioned electioneering - backbenchers you rarely hear from expressing strong opinions over social issues.

And traditionally, ministers have a slightly harder time convincing everyone to vote for them a second time, especially when their name has been associated with potentially controversial issues.

The Department of Infrastructure minister has always been faced with an uphill battle, inevitably being at the helm of some of the most publicised capital projects that take place.

In the past decade, the Douglas Promenade regeneration scheme was a source of controversy - a much beleaguered project that ran far past its completion target and went millions over budget.

The Manx government-funded ferry terminal in Liverpool followed the same path - with the final cost of that project still not confirmed.

Perhaps it is a coincidence that Ray Harmer and Tim Baker - both ministers in office in the department during the last administration, which straddled parts of both projects - lost their seats in the 2021 House of Keys general election.

And so MHKs would be forgiven for avoiding Cannan's eye contact as he sought a replacement to take that ministerial position at this critical time.

However, both Thomas and Crookall said they were "delighted" to take the appointments - and perhaps as both have been infrastructure ministers in the past, they, unlike others, at least know what they are letting themselves in for.

All of which leads to January's Tynwald sitting, which began just over 24 hours after the surprise announcements, and there are a number of items due for updates that would have included both the treasury and infrastructure ministers.

That ranged from a financial statement on business support schemes regarding the minimum wage rise, a statement on the island's sea services framework, and a debate on a new waste strategy.

But with the latest changes in the Council of Ministers, it remains to be seen which of those issues will be progressed at this stage, and which will be placed on the back burner.

Whatever the outcome of the political debates to come during the remainder of the administration, it will be in September that the people of the island get to make their feelings known.

Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.