"POWER WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY" - REFORM JERSEY PUBLIC MEETING on Chief Minister's Powers - Town Hall Thursday 24th April, 7.30pm

Reform Jersey is holding a public meeting this Thursday evening in the Town Hall at 7.30 p.m. to discuss the implications for democracy in the island of the Chief Minister’s Proposition P33 creating a system of “ministerial responsibility”.

For Reform Jersey, P33 is simply a further concentration of power in the hands of a narrow and unrepresentative elite, in an Assembly that is already dangerously out of touch and unrepresentative.

It follows on from the earlier attempt to push the gerrymander of Option B through the States, having high-jacked the Electoral Commission and then sought to legitimate their chosen scheme with a Referendum that saw an abysmal 26% turnout. With long overdue electoral reform sabotaged, the forthcoming first general election once again leaves the electorate without policy choice or ability to structure the Assembly. High voter abstention will continue.

There are a number of proposed amendments to P33, none more audacious than that of the Treasury Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf, calling for salary increases for Ministers, ending existing egalitarian principles of remuneration and replacing it with a system of patronage, to the detriment of back benchers.

Reform Jersey will have members speaking and an invited guest with firsthand experience of the measures currently in place to prevent a concentration of power in the hands of a Chief Minister.

In this video interview recorded by Voiceforchildren, Reform Jersey members Deputy Sam Mezec and I, set out the reasons for calling the meeting.

REFORM JERSEY - A political party with ambition

Here is the exclusive interview given to Voiceforchildren blog following the election of Sam Mezec and I as Deputies in St Helier District No.1 and No.2 respectively on 5th March 2014.

In the interview we set out our vision of what the political party REFORM JERSEY might be. It will only be possible if the people of Jersey engage and rally to an organisation that has emblazoned on its banner Social Justice and Reform.

The real battle will come in the October 15 General Election - Jersey's first general election when all seats are open to be contested at the same time. The election will most likely be fought under the unreformed Constitution of 1948 with its three categories of States Member - Senator, Deputy and Constable. It’s going to be a messy affair, primarily because the political class has refused to embrace long overdue reforms and create a modern democratic electoral system. They have done so consciously because they fear losing power; they fear the people, who so far have been dulled into a-political indifference over many years.

Clearly this is an historic moment for the island of Jersey. At last the prospect of change is in sight and the agency of that change is REFORM JERSEY. I am honoured and thrilled to participate in this endeavor. Men make their own history but not in circumstances of their own choosing.

Thanks to VFC who has been tirelessly engaged and blogging for progressive politics since 2008.

At last we have a break-through and a brigehead established. The counter attack is sure to come and it will be met.

Deputy Nick Le Cornu, District 1 St Helier – keeping his election promises

During canvassing at La Collette flats in Green Street I fell over on extremely slippery decking outside the low rise flats near the sea. I spoke to the nearby tenants and they indicated their complaints about the danger and a number of falls had not resulted in a permanent solution. The danger remained, so I undertook to resolve the issue once elected.

The decking was power washed on the day after my election and Astro-Turf will be put down.

There is a need for ALL States properties to be subjected to an ACCESS AUDIT by Property Services or some other department using qualified people as soon as possible and the new Housing Association ANDIUM undertake a similar project with all housing units as quickly as possible too. 

A full schedule can then be collated to show what adapted accommodation exists for tenants with disabilities and the States can undertake the long overdue programme of making ALL public buildings accessible to everybody. 

I will also be pressing for a comprehensive Disability Strategy to be prepared – just like that recently agreed in Guernsey with ratification of the UN Convention on the rights of people with Disabilities. 

Thanks to Deputy Green, the Housing Minister, for responding so quickly. We shall monitor further progress as the Astro-Turf is laid and better handrails provided to make this access SAFE!