LAST week’s States meeting saw members divided on many issues and that prompted some readers to ask whether this is the start of the House factionalising or even beginning naturally to coalesce into ‘political parties’.
It is clear from the recent votes that there are some very different views in the chamber about how to tackle the same issue and it does indeed look as though the rump of an opposition – or at least alternative – view is starting to emerge.
Some candidates in the April general election predicted that there would be a division between what was previously referred to as the Stuart Falla/Peter Roffey persuasions, a kind of Right/Left split based on the island living within its means or moving more towards a tax-and-spend approach.
Yet for all the split votes last week, there is little hard evidence to support that claim.
What the debates more clearly showed is that new members are not keen to accept or trust earlier decisions at face value and want to reach their own conclusions and the deep scepticism, which was expressed in 2004, that mass burn incineration is best for the island remains.
More than that, members wish the States in its broadest sense to be the government so there is extreme reluctance to delegate decision making to ministers or departments. Public Services swiftly recognised that and backed down on its desire to take the final decision, rather than the House, on the preferred option for dealing with waste.
Similarly with the chief minister having to agree not to sign a framework undertaking on the island’s constitutional relationship with the UK without express States authority: the shots are called by 45 deputies and two States of Alderney representatives.
While some islanders will welcome this as a victory for democracy, it also suggests that far from becoming more streamlined in its decision-making processes, deputies want to run Guernsey by committee, and a large one at that.
Much is made of the island’s consensual style and it has served well over the years.
However, these are much more complex times and consensus works only when people agree.
If they do not, hard but vital decisions become fudged.
Consensus – if that’s OK with you…
LAST week’s States meeting saw members divided on many issues and that prompted some readers to ask whether this is the start of the House factionalising or even beginning naturally to coalesce into ‘political parties’.
It is clear from the recent votes that there are some very different views in the chamber about how to tackle the same issue and it does indeed look as though the rump of an opposition – or at least alternative – view is starting to emerge.
Some candidates in the April general election predicted that there would be a division between what was previously referred to as the Stuart Falla/Peter Roffey persuasions, a kind of Right/Left split based on the island living within its means or moving more towards a tax-and-spend approach.
Yet for all the split votes last week, there is little hard evidence to support that claim.
What the debates more clearly showed is that new members are not keen to accept or trust earlier decisions at face value and want to reach their own conclusions and the deep scepticism, which was expressed in 2004, that mass burn incineration is best for the island remains.
More than that, members wish the States in its broadest sense to be the government so there is extreme reluctance to delegate decision making to ministers or departments. Public Services swiftly recognised that and backed down on its desire to take the final decision, rather than the House, on the preferred option for dealing with waste.
Similarly with the chief minister having to agree not to sign a framework undertaking on the island’s constitutional relationship with the UK without express States authority: the shots are called by 45 deputies and two States of Alderney representatives.
While some islanders will welcome this as a victory for democracy, it also suggests that far from becoming more streamlined in its decision-making processes, deputies want to run Guernsey by committee, and a large one at that.
Much is made of the island’s consensual style and it has served well over the years.
However, these are much more complex times and consensus works only when people agree.
If they do not, hard but vital decisions become fudged.
Article posted on 5th August, 2008 - 2.30pm