Sark set to start Seneschal reforms
Monday 29th December 2008, 2:29PM GMT.
CHIEF PLEAS will discuss the role of the Seneschal at the first meeting of the new Assembly next month.
Having decided last week not to challenge the Court of Appeal’s ruling that the dual role broke Article 6 of European human rights legislation, Sark must now reform it.
Sark’s new conseillers-elect agreed the island could not afford the legal costs involved in taking forward the fight against the suit by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay.
New members will next month be asked to direct the General Purposes and Advisory Committee to consider a plan to reform the dual role and report back to Chief Pleas.
But before that, the first fully democratically elected House in the island’s history will have to decide who will sit in the different committees – including the General Purposes and Advisory Committee.
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Time that Sark imposed taxes on billionaires, whom seek through the advantage of their huge wealth and political power to beat the few hundred Sark inhabitants into submission.Use your new found democracy and use it wisely to ensure a level pitch for the future.
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Richard
I suggest to you that it is Sarks self preserving attitudes that are responsible for where they now find themselves.
Impose taxes on billionaires? What is this about then? Because people are wealthy and have achieved a lot in their lives they should prop up fools.
If any taxes were to be imposed the wealth would simply be moved where it is not taxable. Sark would then find itself scratching its head and faced with yet another legal battle which, for the record, they can’t afford.
Sark should be wanting to come to some form of agreement with the Barclays because if they don’t I can’t see much of a future for Sark at all.
Where is the money going to come from to sort out the shipping companies debts. The Island prides itself with running a monopoly on shipping. What happens when the company goes into liquidation?
Beg the neighbours for essential supplies. Maybe just rough it out with no electric or fresh food.
Sark desperately needs the Barclays a lot more than the Barclays need Sark. They have their own Island.
Sark as an Island is paranoid of all people that they don’t see as true Sarkees. How many are there then?
A lot have sold up and are living elswhere.
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Paul, Sark never asked the Barclays to buy up properties, but they couldnt stop them either. Dont they realise that the island they are quoted as loving as children they are destroying.
Guernsey and Jersey will support Sark no matter what happens, they had a donation of £50,000 from one lover of Sark-which may not be all the money that Sark needs but it shows how united we are in our support of the Sarkies. I for one made a donation to help the people of sark as did a fair few others.
The only reason the Barclays have decided to reopen their businesses is they now realise that if they did not it would not make any difference to the residents of sark, but would only make a difference to the Barclays pockets.
They have done themselves no favours by the way they behaved after the elections. They showed what they really loved about Sark- another island they thought they could buy.
And before you think Im a non local hater, Im from the UK and have lived and worked in Guernsey for over 20 years. And have visited Sark practicaly every year, I love it and just wish that the Barclays would stop trying to run the island. How about giving the people of Sark a bit of peace in 2009.
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This is OUTRAGEOUS !!!
Those Barclays get away with it again.. this is obvious that they tried to buy out the town to persuade/bride its people so they can change 450yr old laws to bring in Democracy so they can then get the polictians to then change the Sark laws to break away their oen little Island to create their own kingdom.
It is so obvious.
Then when the bully tactics DID NOT work, the Barclays closed up shop, pulled out of business to punish the locals, smacks totalitarianism to me.
It is obviously dangerous to allow such people come in and buy up so much, I guess the people of Sark did not see that one comming.
I hope they take this as a lesson in future.
I think some brilliant London Human Rights Lawyer should take this case on to the EU for Free.
Also … I wonder is this were Britians ‘elite’ are planning to escape to in 2009 once the UK goes to hell?
Sammi, Brisbane, Australia
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Sark was an easy target.
Especially as they use 450yr old laws… Barclays easily use the dialectic to say Democracy must be brought in…
Ironic that when Sarck had a Democratic vote on it, they voted no. They were happy to maintain 450yr old ways.
Now that is Democracy alive and well in Sark.
What do you call Barclay’s imposition? Totalitarian?
What tipped Sark over the edge? No economy?
Silly people, Barclays were NEVER going to walk away from Sark…they spent 2.5million on lease and a whopping 60million on their castle. No, these guys were in it for life. One way or another they would get what they wanted.
Sammi from Brisbane, a city in the Totalitariam Socialist working towards a Communist state called Australia.
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Someone in Jersey or Guernsey must help support the people of Sark!
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Having lived on the Island of Jersey for several years, (post war 40s to mid 50s) I would hate to see beautiful Sark turned into a modern day Jersey. A place that only the rich can live or visit. Hang in the Sark residents, protect your wonderful oaisis from the Barkey Brothers.
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Don’t people realise there are two sides to every coinc. Yes the Barclays were a bit heavy handed but some of the “islanders” (I use the term loosely as a lot of these people are very recent immigrants with money) lack foresight. Sark is a beautiful place but does need some investment. COMPROMISE is the name of the game.
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