Composition of the States: Reduction in the Number of Senators - Referendum (P.198/2010) - Second Amendment

STATES OF JERSEY

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COMPOSITION OF THE STATES: REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF SENATORS – REFERENDUM (P.198/2010)

– SECOND AMENDMENT

Lodged au Greffe on 11th January 2011 by Deputy T.M. Pitman of St. Helier

STATES GREFFE

2010   Price code: A  P.198 Amd.(2)

COMPOSITION OF THE STATES: REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF SENATORS – REFERENDUM (P.198/2010) – SECOND AMENDMENT

1  PAGE 2, PARAGRAPH (a) –

After the words "overall number of Senators" insert the words "or Deputies". 2  PAGE 2, PARAGRAPH (b) –

For  the  word  "question"  substitute  the  word  "questions"  and  insert  a  new question as follows –

"2.  Do you wish the number of Deputies representing your Parish to be

reduced?

YES  NO ";

DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER

REPORT

Firstly, it really must be stated how strange I and many find it that a member of the Council of Ministers – a group of politicians so dismissive of acting on the wishes of the public over huge issues such as the implementation and increase of GST; unjust public sector pay freezes or the unfair and divisive 0/10 tax regime – should suddenly feel that a modest reduction of Senatorial seats that will be entirely uniform in its limited impact is somehow more important

Be this as it may as I have already said in an amendment to the hugely flawed proposition on reducing the number of Deputies lodged by Deputy Noel, following on from  the  States  finally  reaching  a  sizable  majority  decision  to  adopt  the  reform package put forward by PPC in October 2010, I strongly felt that with this long overdue achievement and so many debates any further considerations of reform should be left until the election of a new Assembly later this year.

Unfortunately, however, the muddled and unworkable – many would say cynical - attempt  by   Deputy  Noel,  and  subsequently   Deputy   Jeune ,  to  undermine  the representation of those living in the island's most densely populated parish, St. Helier , along with that of St. Saviour meant that as one of those elected to represent the interests of the Capital's people I have been compelled to try and ensure that some safeguard against such undermining of the democratic process is set in place.

As a consequence I believe that in the light of the referendum request lodged by Senator Cohen the most cost effective and, indeed, authoritative manner by which the people  Deputies  Noel  and   Jeune  would  happily  strip  of  up  to  40%  of  their representation can be made aware of, and either reject or support proposals that would shift the current imbalance of political representation even further toward the country parishes would be to simply add a second question as outlined above.

More than 150 years of tradition

It is interesting that in his brief but somewhat rose-tinted report my good friend Senator Cohen tells us how some apparently wrongly believe the role of Senator to be a modern introduction. Only to then quite rightly outline how in fact the role of Senator actually came about as recently as 1948! This, of course, was the same time as the far older traditional role of Deputy – the first elected on January 12th 1857 – was expanded upon with final reluctant acceptance that the case for having individuals elected for life, and sitting in both legislature and judiciary as the Jurats did was wholly  incompatible  with  any  government  wishing  to  claim  it  was  a  modern democracy.

This last point is highly important because it demonstrates the wholly inaccurate impression given that the role of Senator elected on an island-wide' vote grew out of some centuries old tradition of democratic purity. A great improvement the modern day invention of the Senator certainly was but the role and practice it grew from was anything but. As a consequence to try and make play of this great, historic tradition is as  groundless  as  the  currently  trumpeted  myth  that  there  is  any  true  need  or constitutional justification for us keeping 12 Senators.

The case for resisting a cynical, further undermining of the urban parishes' Deputy representation, however, is – especially if we are to maintain the traditional parish

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P.198/2010 Amd.(2)

system which Deputies Noel and Jeune seek to destroy with their proposals is of far more importance. We simply cannot afford an island even more divided in terms of town and country; haves' and have nots'; powerful and powerless, then already exists now.

If we are to ask the public to decide on a small reduction in the number of Senators with no direct parish link before we as a government act, then I would suggest that we must  certainly  also  take  the  opportunity  to  see  if  the  people  of  St.  Helier  and St. Saviour or, indeed, any other parish are happy to go along with being conned out of their parish representatives. I think Deputies Noel and Jeune might be in for a rude awakening.

Financial and manpower implications

As Senator Cohen states in his proposition that the only cost of running referenda is that of additional officer time, printing and associated costs, it would appear quite clear that as my amendment would simply tag on a second question to the material containing  the  question  about  Senators,  there  would  be  little  or  no  financial  or manpower implications rising from this.