Replies to John Heys' letter from 'www.thisisjersey.com'1. Pip Clement
Posted May 26, 2010 at 3:56 pm
I think many of the senior figures realise that it is an absolute mess but they simply do not care.
Quite a few of them are unlikely to be there after the next election so they are just hanging on to power and muddling through.
Clothier was cherry picked and changed so that it suited the controlling faction within the States.
The fact that this was an action that was morally and politically bankrupt and exposed many senior figures as nakedly self interested gerrymanderers did not bother them in the slightest at the time.
It should also be noted that a senior establishment figure is not standing in the forthcoming byelection for senator. It will be between Syvret and Southern with the other candidates collecting only hundreds of votes but running for deputy next time round with a bit of name recognition this time.
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2. Wilson Riou
Posted May 26, 2010 at 5:22 pm
John – you make a lot of separate points most of which are unrelated and you seem to suggest that party politics will solve them.
What evidence do you have to support your argument that tourism and agriculture have been ‘run down’ through policy rather than external market forces?
The £100 million tax relief you refer to is I assume the zero/ten regime. You know that the IOM bounced Jersey and Guernsey into reciprocating (to maintain competitiveness) by pre-announcing its intentions.
You know that GST was arrived at after public consultation and on the advice from the Crown Agents who identified the systemic risk of relying on tax revenues from business that have no long term allegiance to Jersey. You also know that any new tax that focused on local business and residents would be unpopular and would easily attract many thousands of signatures to a petition.
The points about public sector spending are well made but you must know that this isn’t just a Jersey problem – those in the UK are far worse.
It’s a little ironic that just as the UK is coming to realise that party politics has been the problem in the past and that the future will be based around coalitions and consensus, we in Jersey are starting to discuss the merits of parties!
Are you saying that the rich and influential have more power? If so show me any country (democracy or otherwise)where this is not the case?
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3. Jerry
Posted May 26, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Even if I accepted Mr Heys’ analysis of the problem (and I’m afraid there are large parts of it that I would dispute) there is no detailed argument in his letter, to support his bald assertion that the solution is to be found in UK/EU ‘advice’ and/or party politics.
Whether or not one is a fan of the UK, the EU, or political parties, it would be difficult to make a case for any claim that the problems he describes are absent from the UK, absent from the EU, or absent from jurisdictions which have a party-political system. On the other hand, UK and European-country blogs are full of often well-evidenced argument that those countries’ biggest problems are caused by external political interference and the group-think ethos and inherent corruptibility of the party system.
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4. bella
Posted May 26, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Well put John-A lot of what the general public have been saying for years.
They definitely have ruined this place.
All they think about is finance,not a care in the world for the rest of us,who have to pay for their folly by higher pricing of food, services etc.
If finance goes belly-up what will the think tanks do then?
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5. Mac
Posted May 26, 2010 at 10:09 pm
@Jerry: you might be right. But the alternative – taking advice from Guernsey, whose economy is more diversified and who do not have GST – is too painful to bear contemplating!
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6. Jerry
Posted May 27, 2010 at 8:31 am
5 Mac – the very thought of advice from over there brings a shudder, eh? Me, ah wouldn’t even take add-vahs from St Ouen – if the best pioche for the job isn’t the one your great-grand-dad left stuck in the fumier in 1926, then it’s a strange world, four-sure.
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7. JOHN HEYS
Posted May 28, 2010 at 1:44 pm
in answer to Wilson RIOU’s comments. The separate points I made just show what range of a mess we have been steered into.
The evidence of the demise of Tourism and Agriculture is self evident, just compare the £millions donated to Finance promotion compared to help for farmers and Tourism, we all know that for YEARS the States have put all their eggs into the Finance basket.
The zero/ten mistake as you know is costing us the huge black hole which is being recouped by the people of Jersey, so what is the point? Big companies and off island registered Hotel groups now do not pay income tax, so what would be the difference to charge them, we would lose nothing if they did not like it and left, and please do not come back with the weak reason of creating employment, a huge proportion of those employed are Eastern European who send money home, and English on short term contracts.
Gst was NOT necessary, many alternatives were suggested and doggerdly ignored by Le Sueur, and when there was public consultation (known as being told what was going to happen) the wishes of the public were totally ignored.
Public sector spending in Little Jersey can not be compared to the huge UK, and is so much easier to control. How ludicrous paying £100’s
of thousands to public servants on an island this size, as a comparison why not compare it to Sark?
You know very well that this Island is governed by a few in the States, with a following of useless head nodders but at last through elections we are seeing new blood gradually emerging and gathering together to have their say, party politics is the ONLY way that elected members will be held to honour their pledges, ie comply with the Party Manifesto, we all see pledges made at the Hustings only to be reversed once elected.
Of course the rich and influental have more sway and power, and yes it is universal, but that fact does not mean it can not be more controlled in Jersey to the benefit of the people rather than the few!! By the way, you mentioned the word Democracy, look it up and then compare your findings with how we are ruled!!
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8. Intersted Bystander
Posted May 30, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Well said John Heys !
I agree with everything mentioned in your letter. Obviously there is a lot more that can be said about the present system of what is laughingly called ‘Gvernment’ in Jersey, but that would more than fill the pages of the JEP for some time !
There is presently an election for senator, hustings for which are now taking place. It would be really nice if the general public of Jersey were more involved in the way that they are governed. One of the ways that they could become more involved would be to vote on who they would like to see in the governing body. To vote at all would be good, but to vote with a certain knowledge of the present procedures, that have proved to be so unpopular with the average Jersey resident, would be better !
Get out to the hustings, listen to the candidates, ask questions, get answers….then you are ready to vote. By voters apathy,the present States Assembly is making a complete mess of everything that it touches ! Do not blame them, as they know not what they do !
Get in there and vote for the person that you feel is not a ‘yes man’ to the establishment.
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