Loss of senators stopped people voting - minister

Some people did not vote in the 2022 election in Jersey because they were so angry about losing the role of senators, the island's treasury minister has said.

Prior to that election there had been eight senators, but politicians voted to abolish them in 2022 as part of moves to simplify the electoral system.

Deputy Elaine Millar has organised meetings in every parish to discuss bringing back senators before she takes formal proposals to the States Assembly in March.

Senators were elected on an island-wide basis, while the current 37 deputies were chosen from nine electoral districts and the 12 constables each represent a parish.

The reforms created nine voting districts and replaced the eight senators with eight deputies.

Millar said she had spoken to islanders who did not vote at the last election - and many of them said it was because they were so angry about the loss of senators in the island.

Two attempts to reinstate senators were rejected by the States Assembly in 2023, but Millar said she was confident her plans had a good "chance of success".

She said: "I think the first proposition was badly timed coming immediately after the election, the last proposition was complicated, so I like to think my version of the proposition will be simple to operate and simple to understand and will have a chance of success."

She also said reintroducing senators would not make the electoral system more complicated.

While turnout has been low at the drop-in sessions organised by Millar to discuss the return of senators, there has been support for her proposals amongst those who have attended.

In Grouville resident Lesley Norman said: "I definitely want to see the return of senators, not having an island-wide franchise is just ridiculous, at the moment I only get to vote for four states members, while in the old days I used to vote for 14."

His sentiments were echoed by Sandra Genee, who attended the meeting in St John.

She said: "I'm very happy to have constituent deputies but I would also like to have the option for voting for other people and I do think the island mandate should be brought back in."

Despite support at the parish hall meetings, some politicians have said bringing this debate to the assembly again is a waste of time.

Deputy Lyndsay Feltham said: "It's not something I think people think about on a day-to-day basis.

"In general islanders want us to concentrate on things that will make their day-to-day lives better."

Feltham added she thought the turnout at the meetings had shown this was not an issue islanders were engaging with at the moment.

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