Backbencher's bid to re-instate Senators is defeated

Thursday 30 November 2023

Senators will not be returning to the States Assembly any time soon, after a backbencher’s proposition was heavily defeated following a lengthy debate.

Deputy Moz Scott was hoping to bring back the island-wide role – which was removed before the previous election – in time for the 2026 election.

However, 30 States Members voted against her proposition yesterday, with 14 for and one abstention.

Politicians also rejected an amendment by a former Senator, Deputy Lyndon Farnham, calling for there to be nine Senators and to reduce the number of Deputies in each constituency by one.

Pictured: Deputy Moz Scott, Deputy of St Brelade, defended calls from other States Members that re-instating Senators was a "vanity project".

Deputy Scott had argued that bringing back Senators would “improve specialised representation of island-wide interests” and “enable States Members to focus on local community/constituency representation” without neglecting other areas.

But other Members were sceptical about the proposition, with Deputy Sam Mézec, the leader of Reform Jersey, calling it "the least coherent and logical" of all recent attempts to revive the role.

It was the second time this year that the return of Senators had been voted down, with Deputy Ian Gorst's proposition failing to reach the magic number of 25 votes back in January.