Now, while Jersey’s election is more than a year away, the electioneering and campaigning has already begun.
The newest kid on the block is the Jersey Action Group, or JAG, which describe itself as a ‘political force’ rather than a political party. It’s a rebranding of the St Helier Waterfront Action Group and wants people that agree with its vision for the Island to stand for election, under its umbrella. Success for JAG would be 15 States Members in the next parliament.
I was heartened to see a new body doing something to increase interest in politics, but my initial enthusiasm has waned in the past couple of weeks.
First up, JAG’s launch manifesto is a list of things it’s opposed to, rather than things it plans to achieve. Throwing stones is the easy bit. Coming up with fixes to the problems is, surely, what we want to see? Come on, JAG, share with us your vision and how you’d make it happen.
My second worry is the language it’s using. On social media feeds in recent weeks, the group and people operating under the JAG banner have accused the Treasury Minister of having a ‘hissy fit’, published unsubstantiated claims around the current RNLI crisis that some may consider libellous, and said a Scrutiny panel had concluded the new hospital could ‘bankrupt’ the Island.
A personal attack, an apparent lack of understanding of the difference between fair comment and libel, and a misrepresentation of an official report. Not a great start.
All that said, it’s early days. There’s time for JAG to find its voice. I think of the early days of Reform Jersey, its scrappy approach to communication, and its problems with internal unity and coordination of key messages. Over the years, Reform Jersey has matured. It puts forward ideas, rather than just opposing the government, and works across the chamber on individual issues.
I’m aware of a number of people who are likely to stand at the election under the JAG banner. Many well-intentioned people. Some high profile. And while among them are former politicians, there are also new faces that could bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the States.
I look forward to watching how JAG matures in the coming months. I just hope it fights clean.
THERE are two type of taxi driver in Jersey. The brilliant ones, and the moaners.
This past week it’s the moaners who’ve been making the news, up in arms at the prospect of the government introducing a law to make card machines mandatory.
They argue a card machine, for people who don’t have cash on them, could cost £200 or more, and that people are happy to be driven via a cashpoint when they don’t have money on them.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Surely any taxi driver worth his or her salt realises they’re in the customer service business, and that paying by card should be run-of-the-mill these days, rather than a nice to have. That there needs to be a law to make this happen says more about the cabbies than the government minister mooting it.
As for the cost, a quick search online reveals you can rent machines for around a fiver a month. I’m sure there are cheap-as-chips buy-out options, too.
In the UK, Uber is changing the taxi game. I can tap an app, call a cab, and pay through my mobile phone without any physical money changing hands. In my experience, it’s 100 per cent reliable, and every Uber driver I’ve spoken to makes a nice living out of it.
While the world moves on, the moaners among the Jersey cabbies are stuck in the dark ages. Get with the game, before technology overtakes your complaints and – like dinosaurs – you’re made extinct.
AND finally, well done to bosses at the Channel Islands Co-operative Society who have taken delivery of shopping trolleys designed specifically for children with special needs.
It follows a request from a customer whose son has autism, for whom the weekly shop was a big challenge. She’s described the new trolleys as a ‘godsend’. Their larger seats mean they can accommodate older children.
An example of a business listening to, and reacting to, what its customers are saying. Yes it costs money, but just think how much it means to those shoppers it’ll help. A smart investment which will, of course, lead to repeat custom and word spreading about their worth.
If only certain taxi drivers had the same mindset…
