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30
WQ.67/2019
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE
CHAIRMAN OF THE PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE
BY DEPUTY M. TADIER OF ST. BRELADE
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 29th JANUARY 2019
Question
Further to the adoption of paragraph (a) of Reform Day: 28th September 1769' (P.107/2012) on 20th November 2012, that "28th September should be recognised annually by the States of Jersey as Reform Day' to mark the anniversary of the events in Jersey of 28th September 1769", will the Chairman advise what plans, if any, his Committee has to mark or commemorate this year's 250th anniversary of the Corn Riots?
Answer
Commemorating the 250th anniversary of Reform Day' from a parliamentary perspective was included in Engaging the Public with Jersey's Democracy: A 3-year Strategy' (R.5/2017) as an action to be undertaken by the States Greffe this year. The plan for this commemoration forms part of wider efforts by the Greffe to use the rich history of the States Assembly to engage Islanders in the Assembly's work and to inform them about what it does. On that front, the Deputy may recall from 2017 the exhibition on the 130th anniversary of the opening of the States Chamber; and plans are already well advanced to mark this year's centenary of women's suffrage through a number of different events.
The States Greffe has begun to consider how best to mark the 250th anniversary of the Corn Riots. As of yet, no firm plans have been identified or agreed; but I will ask for this matter to be placed on the agenda for the Committee's next meeting and for the States Greffe to advise the Deputy once the exact nature of a contribution to the commemoration has been decided. However, the work of P.P.C. on this matter will be focussed on Reform Day' in the context of the Assembly's work as a parliamentary body; and any commemoration will be planned and scaled accordingly. It will be for others to determine what should happen more widely to mark the occasion – those with responsibility for Education or Culture, for instance (which include the Deputy himself in his capacity as Assistant Minister). Tourism and Economic Development could also play a role given that the day in question falls in the shoulder months' of the tourism calendar.
When the Assembly agreed in November 2012 that 28th September should be recognised as Reform Day' to mark the events of 1769, it did so without agreeing the other parts of the proposition that indicated how that recognition should manifest itself. It is also not clear how much public support there is to have the day celebrated on a large scale; for instance, no club, society or organisation has been founded to pursue the cause to mark the occasion. Compared with Liberation Day, which is ingrained in the Island's collective consciousness, there is not the same personal and immediate connection with the Corn Riots of 1769. Celebrating the Riots is essentially therefore a case of starting from scratch in terms of the public consciousness and this has to be borne in mind.