AS I sat in St John’s Parish Hall for the recent nominations meeting ahead of next month’s election, I was reminded of both the good and bad quirks of our unique electoral system. And they are all things not limited to St John.
There was the tedious way in which all the legal declarations had to be read out word for word, followed by the exciting moment of asking if there were any other nominations – a pause as dramatic as the moment during a wedding ceremony when the congregation are asked about legal impediments to the marriage.
There was the community spirit that comes with being part of a small village district, but the cliqueness that small parishes can also bring.
There was the sense of proud tradition as each proposer got up in turn to nominate their candidate, but the disappointing fact that all, including the three candidates themselves, were men, and most of them older too.
There was the way the candidates were reminded of the rules on spending and told to check the latest advice on placing posters around the parish, followed by the obligatory uncomfortable moment when the two Deputy hopefuls had to gather for a picture for this newspaper – a personal favourite moment for me every time.
In the days since that nomination meeting and the 11 others around the Island, it has been made clear that the process of standing for election could do with being reviewed.
Yes, anyone wanting the public to vote them in to the £46,000 role of States Member to make important decisions for our Island should be able to fill in a basic form, but with two candidates having had their nomination papers questioned, there is clearly an issue that needs to be looked at.
After all, standing for election needs to be accessible to everybody.
Perhaps there are areas that could be improved, or better guidance given. And is it just a coincidence that both candidates who have struggled are part of the political party Reform Jersey?
And as part of that process a wider review of the system would not be a bad idea either. Tradition and quirkiness does not necessarily mean that the process has to be archaic.
St John was one of ten parishes (now 11 after a candidate dropped out in St Brelade because of the nomination form issues) where the Constable was elected unopposed for yet another term.
St John Constable Chris Taylor has never faced an election, and he is not alone around the Island.
Such a situation is not good for anybody, even those ultimately who get the job without having to try.
But with cliquey parish systems like we have, the barriers to standing for election are even bigger than the usual issues such as pay, confidence and the pressures of being in the public eye.
It takes real guts to stand against someone who is seen as a shoe-in because they know all the right people at the parish hall and often those already within that tight-knit community who may be suitable for the job feel unable to go against the status quo.
There is no denying that our Constables play an important role in the parishes and can do on a wider Island level too.
But the only real way to avoid the unhealthy democratic imbalance that their frequent unopposed elections bring is to not have them in the States altogether.
Because they – the position not the individuals themselves – are both a good and bad quirk of Jersey’s system.
And unless something dramatic changes, we will be stuck with almost a quarter of our politicians elected unopposed for many years to come.
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CONGRATULATIONS to Prince William and Kate this week on the birth of their third child.
And congratulations to the mums everywhere who turned it into an opportunity to have a go at Kate and regale us all with how awful they looked and felt (often involving too much information) after having their own children and how they would never have dreamt of putting on a dress just hours after giving birth.
Yes, the appearance was soon, and yes she looked incredible for a woman who had just had a baby.
But she’d had help, obviously, and once she got home I’m sure she took it all off, put on her comfiest PJs and settled down to just be a mum – not that it is any of our business anyway.
I’ve seen all sorts of pictures of new mothers with faces full of make up and their hair done for their ‘first’ photos with their babies, and many mothers having second or third children leave hospital within hours of giving birth.
Others don’t and a hairbrush let alone a make-up brush is the furthest thing from their minds, whereas there are those who fit somewhere in the middle – the point is everyone is different.
I am all for the powerful motherhood movement that has developed online and on social media in recent years, but not when it unfairly targets other mums.
Because as much as those doing the commenting will say they are condemning the system and the often unfair expectations placed on royals like Kate, at the end of the day it’s mum-on-mum criticism – pure and simple.
