Jersey Government Reform Proposals Condemned

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

27 September 2002

New proposals on governmental restructuring released by Jersey's Policy and Resources Committee on Tuesday have been shot down in flames as 'an all-out assault upon independent democracy and political freedom of speeech' by one Senator.

The model put forward by P & R proposes a system of 'collective responsibility', whereby - with some exceptions - the Council of Ministers would be obliged to speak as one voice, a suggestion which Senator Stuart Syvret has condemned in the Jersey media as a breach of human rights.

According to a Jersey Evening Post report on the issue, under the proposed rules: 'If a Minister felt so strongly about an issue that they could not publicly support the council, they would have no option but to offer their resignation. The exceptions to these rules are: matters of conscience; a declared position; constituency matters; unresolved matters; and collective exemption.'

However, these exemptions are unacceptable, according to Senator Syvret, who observed this week that:

'What P & R propose is agree or be silent or get out! Not consensus but subjugation or exclusion. The destiny of the Island is to be put in the hands of a structure that demands secrecy, will not tolerate dissent, and will require independently elected politicians to set aside their own views and those for which they were elected and instead toe a 'party line'.'

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