By John Henwood
Well, that’s it for another four years. A new States Assembly has been elected and if we don’t like the outcome, it’s our fault. Or partly. Anyone who didn’t bother to turn out at the polls has not earned the right to complain about the result. That said, despite the best efforts of many including this newspaper and the Institute of Directors who mounted a strong ‘Stand and then deliver’ campaign, the choice presented to the electorate was uninspiring.
At one parish hustings in answer to various questions the candidates proposed or were in favour of subsidies for farmers and fishermen, increased old-age pensions, increased income support, more money for health staff, more money invested in education, but none of them explained where the money would come from to pay for these things. On questions about the spiralling cost of living the popular answer was, ‘It’s a global problem’. Absolutely no ideas on how we might begin to tackle it in Jersey.
Before considering the election results it’s worth reflecting on that period between nomination and polling days. During the so-called purdah contributors were (quite rightly) not allowed to comment on the merits or demerits of any candidate, but news is news and the only way a candidate could get their photo in the JEP was by being involved in a genuine news story. In this the States Greffe helped Kirsten Morel by mistakenly associating him with a political party. The outraged candidate spoke of taking legal action which led to a half-page story. He should be thanking the Greffe for the free publicity.
In St Brelade there was a campaign promoting the NOTA (none of the above) option in the election for Constable, a vote against the sole candidate Mike Jackson.
The most excitement, if that is what it can be called, was in St Saviour with a field of 12 runners. The first indication that this wasn’t going to be a wholly friendly contest came with the circulation of an anonymous letter alleging candidate Louise Doublet had failed to attend many meetings and suggesting such absenteeism would not be tolerated in a workplace. Then there was a spat between Philip Ozouf and Mary O’Keeffe with the latter accusing the former of bullying (haven’t we heard something similar before?) and the former responding with a similar allegation. One never discovers precisely where the truth lies in these matters, but they provide fuel for gossip. Then Jeremy Maçon declined to attend a meeting at which electors were able to put specific questions to individual candidates. Kevin Pamplin left a meeting, apparently hurriedly, shortly after a campaigner arrived intent on asking all candidates a question about child protection. Quite what effect, if any, all this had on the outcome is not clear.
Overall, I don’t recall a more lacklustre hustings period. I have written previously on the problem of the public being disengaged from politics, and it seems to be getting worse; many who I spoke to said they were struggling to find a candidate for whom they wanted to vote. There’s little doubt that the identikit candidate identified by the IoD and others did not stand and I’m reminded again of something the late Colin Powell said: discussing the generally weak Assembly he offered the view that the likes of Cyril and John Le Marquand, Philip Le Feuvre, Ralph Vibert and the rest of the builders of the Jersey we had through most of the second half of the 20th century will only come forward when middle Jersey is really hurting in the pocket. It’s getting that way, but by and large the majority still enjoys a comparatively comfortable existence and the movers and shakers are not motivated to grasp the political nettle.
The new constituencies seem to please very few and many (not me) regret the elimination of Senators. I firmly believe we need a single class of States Member and surely in this age of advanced technology it must be possible to organise an Assembly of, say, 42 members all elected on an Island-wide basis.
So what of the results? With the exception of Reform Jersey, who virtually swept St Helier, the move toward party politics failed. It was a miserable night for the Jersey Alliance party, possibly because of the desire for change and a vote for Alliance being perceived as a vote for more of the same. The Progress Party struggled to make progress and threw their lot in with the Liberal Conservatives who never really took off with too few candidates to make a difference. I predict the only presently registered party still to be active in 2026 will be Reform. Alone among the parties they played their hand well, carefully fielding their candidates in winnable constituencies. Does this mean the Island has listed to port? I don’t think so, but it does reflect an Island ever more divided between town and country.
The NOTA option was exercised in some parishes by more voters than expected and one wonders how that may affect those Constables who were unopposed, but drew a large negative vote. It must be difficult when you know a third of voters don’t want you in the job.
There will be time enough to reflect on the details of the results, but for now we must wait for the next election, the one among the Members of the new Assembly which will determine our next chief minister, the Council of Ministers and those who will scrutinise their plans.
