Clothier
Effective Government? - Jersey needs effective government, but that should not be at the expense of hard won democratic values. The concepts and reforms that emanated from the Clothier team showed marginal concern for Jersey's traditional values and the Island was fitted with an off the peg solution primarily designed for UK regional authorities. Effectively, the reformers in Jersey's government have committed to constitutional change with no clear analysis of the eventual outcome.
Consensual Politics? - Streamlining the civil service was one thing, but do we really want to abandon consensual politics? If the Island-wide mandate produces a higher calibre of politician, why the demands to abolish Senators?
The parochial elections for Deputies are positively anti-democratic, with the electorates of eleven other parishes denied any influence in individual parish ballots. This exclusion is even extended within parishes that are split into internal constituencies.
General Elections? - Furthermore, popular demands for general elections totally overlook the Island's distinctive rolling elections. This is a potentially unique feature of Jersey's constitutional structure that could be enhanced - rather than terminated - perhaps allowing the electorate to exercise its influence on an annual basis. This could accommodate political control being adjusted far more quickly than the waiting period between general elections, but at the same time ensure that change is less dramatic.
Number of States Members - Clearly the overall number of States members could be reduced, but - under the Clothier reforms - this is linked to a formula related to the number of Ministers and Assistant Ministers, which means the current total cannot fall below the low forties.
Nevertheless, there is growing support for insisting that all States members seek an Island wide mandate, whilst the ex-officio members, the Connetables, are retained to exert a parochial influence. Thus an alternative example of potential reform could be the retention of the twelve Connetables, dissolution of Deputies and reduction of the Senatorial term to four years with eight Senators being elected each year (to provide a total of 44 States members).
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