A NEW bid to reinstate Senators to the States before the next election is to be launched amid claims of a voter backlash against the loss of the Islandwide role.
Senator Lyndon Farnham, who claimed one of the four Deputy seats in the St Ouen, St Peter and St Mary district, said that either he or fellow Senator Ian Gorst would work towards bringing proposals to the new Assembly to bring back Senators.
He said that the removal of the role had been a significant issue on the campaign trail and that Members should strongly consider reinstating the Senatorial seats ‘if they have listened to the electorate’.
In April last year, the States Assembly agreed to radical reforms which saw the Islandwide mandate scrapped in favour of 37 Deputy seats spread across nine constituencies alongside the 12 parish Constables.
However, a number of people criticised the loss of Senators and an online petition launched earlier this year calling for their return gained more than 1,400 signatures.
During last year’s debate, Deputy-elect Farnham launched a last-ditch attempt to save the Senators but his amendment was soundly rejected by States Members.
Speaking following Wednesday’s election, he said: ‘The new system has not engaged more people. Islanders have become disenfranchised because they have voter influence over far fewer Members than they did.’
He added that discussions around Senatorial candidates allowed the Island’s entire electorate to engage with each other and that their loss had ‘segregated’ voters.
‘The first thing the States has to do is agree the principle of returning an Islandwide mandate and we will – whether it is myself or Ian Gorst – be asking them to do that in short order.
‘We need to get on with it to give us time to improve the system in time for 2026.
Even some of those who voted to remove the Senator have admitted during the campaign that it might have been a mistake.
‘One of the big issues from Islanders that many felt strongly about was the loss of Senators and in some instances the loss of parish Deputies. If the new Assembly has listened to the electorate they should agree to reinstate the Islandwide mandate.’
He added that the Assembly would have to decide whether it agreed to the principle of bringing back Senators and then look at how that might be implemented.
Deputy-elect Farnham said this could be via a system similar to that which was in place before the 2022 election or a model of 36 Senators alongside 12 parish Constables.
‘Those are the discussions we are going to have,’ he added.
Deputy Carina Alves, who chaired the Privileges and Procedures Committee which brought the changes to the Assembly, said she was not necessarily opposed to a discussion around Senators but that the ‘ideal scenario’ would be to have one category of States Member rather than a return to three.
‘The ideal is one type of States Member – if that is to be Senators then so be it,’ she said.
Deputy Alves, who topped the poll in St Helier Central, added that while there had been vocal opposition to the loss of Senators, there were others happy with the electoral reforms that had been implemented.
She said: ‘I think those who are missing the Senatorial votes have been a lot more vocal than those who have been supportive of the new system. I had a couple of comments from people who actually preferred this system. Voices against are often louder.
‘We need to work towards voter equality and equity. At PPC we did a lot of market research, we had focus groups and surveys.
‘They all pointed to simplifying the system and three types of Members is not simplifying the system.’
