Expect a hot Autumn. The Counterattack by government supporters of
Option B has already begun. The campaigning season between now and the end of
the year will see Option B marched up and down and then traded through the
States in time for the October 2014 elections. Well, that's the plan.
We must bear in mind that Option B and its legislative expression P64/2013, is a great gerrymander designed to concentrate power in the hands of the few for another couple of generations. That’s precisely why such an undemocratic scheme should be opposed with utmost vigor now.
There are clearly some supporters of Option A who genuinely believe
that Option B embodies certain aspects of reform that can be the basis for
later additional reforms. They are wrong. Option B is for a generation or more
at least. It is designed to be the historic replacement for the 1947 constitutional
reforms that allowed the unchallenged exercise of power for over 60 years.
Interview
Seizing the initiative, Senator Ozouf explained yesterday to BBC
Radio Jersey what concessions might get Option B through the States.
The interview (at 8 minutes in) was one of evasion and obfuscation
as to the real issues. Alas, the media, ever deferential to government
initiatives, was insufficiently critical to highlight either the obvious intellectual
deficiencies or real politique issues
behind mustering a majority in the States.
The ticklish
question – St Helier
The Senator’s pragmatism turned around the bargain, by way of necessary
concessions, to muster sufficient numbers of States Members for Option B to
pass.
He identified the stumbling block, indirectly without naming them,
as the St Helier Deputies, whose electorate had voted by two to one in favour of
Option A in the Referendum. With an election looming, these Deputies would have
a hard time justifying a simple surrender. At what price could their support be bought?
St Helier, said the Senator, “looked as though it was disenfranched”.
This is how he coyly described the perpetuation of the Town and Country divide under
Option B. He went on to allude to “the perceived inequity of the St Helier
situation”. Inequity is no mere perception; it is an objective reality.
The Senator chose to ignore the excellent research carried out by Dr Alan Renwick of Reading University, one of the academics
advising the Electoral Commission, which exposes the inequalities in the
current electoral system and has been there for centuries in the historic Town
and Country divide. The structure is so tainted that the expert advice is to
demolish and build anew.
This research remains the intellectual elephant in the room albeit
not having informed the public debate. Nevertheless it forms the objective rationale
for any challenge before the Privy Council. How could any self-respecting
government, seeking to reform its electoral system, arrive at Option B and the
perpetuation of so many existing democratic deficiencies?
Concessions
What were the Senators’ deal clinching concessions? It turned out
he was offering two extra Deputies for St Helier, so each of the two new larger
districts would have six instead of five.
This will without doubt be regarded as chicken feed.
What worries most the
28 who voted against Option B is the radical pruning of the States to 42
members. Adding back two Deputies is neither here nor there and certainly does not
address the “St Helier issue”, which leaves the Town and other urban areas grossly under represented.
The single election day
Clearly
it’s the single election day that is acting as the democratic worm.
The
“Old Way”, to which the Senator alluded, was the managed system that carefully
avoided the electoral moment when, potentially, the electorate could remove the
incumbent set of rascals and replace them. This is the very essence of a
democratic system; that’s why this novelty is bringing pain.
The
prospect of Jersey’s first General Election, when every States Member faces
reelection together on the same day, sends a shiver down the spine of the
political elite. Hence the urgency in replacing the “Old Way” with an equally gerrymandered
system called Option B, perfectly designed to ensure those that hold power
never lose it.
“a slightly amended version
of Option B”
Ever
nostalgic for simpler times, Senator Ozouf said he would not object to tweaking
Option B by bringing back six Senators elected every three years. In one step
he would destroy the single election day and any idea of a General Election. It would mean the return of three categories of States Member, elected in constituencies of unequal size and on different days. Heaven! So much for rationalising the system.
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| Gallant St Helier fells the Giant Option B |
