DEPUTY IVAN RIHOY, Guernsey’s longest serving States member, came into the chamber just over a quarter of a century ago. In the early years of his political career, he was a very active deputy, campaigning vigorously on big policy issues and representing individual constituents. He was so active that during my brief sojourn on planning, I recall one occasion when he wrote two letters about a proposed development, one in favour and the other against. When asked which one he really meant, he answered, ‘Both. One was on behalf of my parishioners who support it and the other on behalf of those who oppose it.’ I’m not clear if he ever told either of the lobbies about his other letter, but I digress.

As the years rolled by and the 80s turned into the 90s and then the 00s, he seemed to settle into a more sleepy style of politics, only coming wide awake for the occasional issue that he felt strongly about, such as the St Sampson’s Marina. Certain cynics even suggested that these widely spaced bursts of activity seemed curiously to coincide with the last six months of a political term.

Whether such ungenerous thoughts had any foundation is now irrelevant because Deputy Rihoy seems to have been re-energised by his new role as chairman of the States Assembly and Constitution Committee.

A constant stream of suggested changes to the way the States work has been brought to the House by the veteran deputy. It’s true that some of the proposals coming out of the SACC are so minor, technical and arcane that they may seem like petty meddling when compared with the major challenges facing the States. Such a dismissive attitude is unfair because it is the job of his committee to consider the minutiae.

Instead we should be judging the team at SACC on the good sense of their suggestions. On that basis, they are the real ‘curate’s egg’ of this assembly. Some of their proposals are sound, some foolish, and yet others seem so minor that it’s irrelevant whether they are adopted or not. All three categories can be found in their hotchpotch of a report to be debated in the States later this week. However, the committee’s real effectiveness is more likely to be judged on two bigger pieces of work.

The first is the recently announced review of the States of Election. This is long overdue but the right way forward is far from clear. For example, many years ago the island’s Anglican rectors were removed from the assembly when it was sitting to choose Conseillers. At the time, I tried to extend this secularisation to the selection of jurats. Despite initial support from A and F, I was roundly defeated following strong lobbying from the then Dean.

His argument was that the judicial role of jurats was very different to the political role of States members and therefore their selection should be by the broader community. He was right. It would erode the important separation between the legislature and the judiciary if it were the States alone who selected jurats. However, I still think it is wrong to give the Anglican community a greater influence than islanders of other faiths or no faith at all. I wish the SACC well in finding the right way forward. If it isn’t beyond their remit, I suggest they even think the unthinkable and consider whether it is really impossible to move away from the jurat system to the use of juries made up of ordinary islanders.

Perhaps, though, SACC’s biggest acid test will be its final proposals on island-wide elections. Previously, they convinced the States that moving away from constituencies was right in principle and the committee could overcome the devil in the detail to produce a workable solution. They can consult all they like, but it is their task to now deliver on that promise.

Over the years, many supporters of island-wide voting have claimed that devising a practical system of electing all States members, island-wide, can’t be beyond the wit of man. I confess it has proved totally beyond my ability. So if Deputy Rihoy has achieved that elusive formula, then hats off to him – it’ll be a fine way to crown a long career in local politics. However, until this marvel is unveiled, I remain cynical. Certainly it isn’t any of the three options currently being consulted on, which all seem worse than keeping the present system but with fewer deputies.