*Note: This article was incorrectly attributed to Richard Digard in the JEP on 6 April. The error is regretted.
THERE is no money.
Eight years ago today Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury in Gordon Brown’s government, wrote a letter to his Tory successor. It contained the single sentence: ‘I’m afraid there is no money.’
This footnote in political history came to mind when I read recently that Treasury Minister Alan Maclean, having decided to stand down at the forthcoming election, told the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel that whoever followed him would have to find £11 million in a hurry and £25 million in all to cover additional committed expenditure during the next States term. So, we’ve eaten the lunch, but can’t pay the bill.
Though not a surprise to anyone who takes an interest in local politics, this was still pretty shocking from the man who went into politics to tackle inefficiency and waste in the public sector and has held the Island’s purse strings for the last four years. When at Economic Development, Senator Maclean was given special responsibility for public sector reform and had a significant budget with which to achieve it. Now he leaves office with the cupboard bare, having failed to make significant headway on the efficiencies with which he was charged.
In fairness to Senator Maclean, his political inheritance was not easy. His predecessor, Senator Philip Ozouf, served two terms as the political head of the Treasury and had the misfortune to cop the 2008 financial meltdown, although Jersey’s economic decline had become the established direction of travel some years earlier. Neither politician was able to conjure successful policies to halt the downward trend nor, despite some extravagant claims, was either able to make meaningful savings in government spending.
Hopefully, all that is behind us and the recently approved reforms to the machinery of government will, at long last, signal the dismantling of ivory towers, the silos, in which some senior officials have remained hunkered down, defying change, for so long. It was a close-run thing though. The principal opponent of the proposal was Senator Sir Philip Bailhache. It will be remembered a short time ago, in opposing a move to end the Bailiff’s role as President of the States Assembly, he claimed it represented a constitutional change and successfully persuaded the House that a non-binding referendum was necessary. Once again he tried to play the constitutional card, but this time it didn’t work and his amendment was narrowly defeated. Senator Bailhache has previous form in opposing change; those with long memories may recall that in 2001, when he was Bailiff, he did his best to torpedo reform proposals with a 3,000-word demolition of the Clothier Report, which appeared in this newspaper.
Senator Bailhache is 72 and, with a brief interlude, has held public office for 46 years. He became Deputy for Grouville in 1972, leaving politics when appointed Solicitor General in 1975. He followed the well-established route through the office of Attorney General then that of Deputy Bailiff to the position of Bailiff to which he was appointed in 1995. Retiring from the Island’s highest office in 2009, he was elected Senator in 2011 and re-elected three years later. There’s little doubt he would have been better off had he stayed in private practice, so, in a material sense, all those years of public service represent a significant personal sacrifice.
In 2011, having held the highest office in order of precedence, Senator Bailhache sought the top role in Jersey politics, but was defeated. Now with his brother in the Bailiff’s chair it would unthinkable for him to become Chief Minister. On Tuesday he announced that he would not be seeking re-election, bringing to four the number of Senators who will be retiring. Of those occupying the senior bench, so far only Senators Gorst and Farnham have thrown their hats into the ring with, at the time of writing, Senators Ferguson and Green still to declare.
So, among Senators at least there will be a significant change, but how will that be viewed? For the majority of our population indifference rules. To date, far too few strong candidates have come forward as prospective Senators, Deputies or Constables, but there is still time. If you feel we are poorly governed and could do better, get your nomination paper in, write your manifesto and go for it. If you don’t, you are likely to wake on 17 May to discover the truth of the old saying: ‘Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.’
