External Relations Minister Sir Philip Bailhache said, however, that he would vote in favour of the proposals, which would see Jersey’s electoral boundaries re-organised into six super-constituencies, because they are a ‘small step forward’.
During a Corporate Services Scrutiny sub-panel hearing, the minister said that he thought Islanders were ‘utterly fed up’ with how long it had taken to implement electoral reform, which has been an ongoing issue since the late 1990s.
‘My view is that the introduction of larger districts is a small step forward. The dog’s dinner we have been presented with is the price of that,’ he said.
Senator Bailhache said that he thought it was an ‘absurdity’ that the proposals, which are due to be debated on 6 June, had been amended to retain Senators, who are elected on an Islandwide basis, while substantially increasing constituency sizes and making them all multi-Member.
‘I don’t think that we should have Senators if we have larger voting districts,’ he said.
‘And I have experience of two Senatorial elections, and I don’t find them very edifying. You have 17 or 18 candidates and you have 90 seconds to answer questions after about 15 other people.
‘I don’t think it is a very effective way to elect Members of the States.’
He added that the ‘ultimate destination’ would be the removal of the Senators from the States and that he believed that Jersey’s next set of politicians, who are elected in May 2018, would do it.
‘I think that members of the public will find it unacceptable to have both larger voting districts and Senators,’ he said.
