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Deputy’s vote for democracy
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Indeed, a number of prominent figures, among them two men who served with distinction on the Senatorial benches, insist that cutting the number of our political representatives with an all-Island mandate will run counter to fundamental democratic principles.
Meanwhile, it is clear that there is still disquiet about this issue among politicians who are still active in the Assembly. Now, one of them – St Mary Deputy Daniel Wimberley – has tabled a proposition which would not only permit Members to atone for what many Islanders consider to be a grave mistake, but would also transfer responsibility for matters concerning the composition of the House to an independent body and then to a referendum.
What Deputy Wimberley has in mind is a commission with a wide brief to examine everything from seats and constituencies to terms of office and voting rules. And to his credit, he suggests drawing the commission’s terms of reference so widely that it would not be constrained by his own or anyone else’s preferences. Everything would be open for discussion.
He also says that any conclusions reached by the commission would have to be ratified by at least 60 per cent of Islanders if they were to pass into law.
The very least that can be said about the Deputy’s proposals is that they represent a far more extensive form of democratic procedure than anything which led to the recent States decision to cull the Senators. That process, the Deputy has noted, was described by one of his colleagues as ‘a complete mess’.
Although the Deputy has been careful not to let his opinions about the composition of the House or other elements of reform intrude into the terms of his proposition, he has made it clear that he is convinced that the electoral system as it is now constituted is flawed and unfair.
This view will be shared, as will his concerns about the extent to which vested interests have framed policy and about the continuing danger that further piecemeal decisions on States reform will lead to more confusion and no improvement of our political institutions.
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