Comment: "...there is far too much playing the man rather than the ball in Jersey politics"

Monday 22 January 2018

If you love to criticise Jersey's politicians, then the chance to do better yourself is only four months away. But what does it take to be a Minister, and why do they always get the blame when things go wrong, rather than their well-paid and experienced officers?

Express columnist Kevin Keen has observed the States machine from the outside, and worked within Cyril Le Marquand House. Here, he takes a look at whether we should be focusing on the politicians, or those employed to implement their decisions.

"How about this for a job ad?

Pictured: Jersey next goes to the polls in May. 

"With elections coming soon I have been reflecting on the performance of politicians and in particular Ministers. I even thought about standing myself, but decided against that for a number of reasons, unrelated to what politicians get paid. I believe we need to reframe our expectations of Ministers and show more respect to States members generally - if we are to attract more good people into politics.

"Take our Chief Minister, I disagree with him on many things, but am impressed by his commitment and integrity, and admire him for the sacrifices he has made to do the job. Very few people in Jersey enter politics for the money, but for a ful-time job with huge responsibility, a salary of  £46,000 cannot be right. For a start it is a fraction of the Chief Executive’s package who was paid between £205,000-£210,000 in 2016, had accumulated a pension pot of nearly £3 million and got a pay off for taking extra holiday before he retired. As we know it is also the same pay as back-benchers get for what can be a part-time role.

"In addition, social media and the smallness of Jersey, makes politics even tougher: name calling and accusations of just about everything bad can make life hard going for the families of anyone in island politics.  It is no wonder so few are willing to try for office, there just does not seem to be an upside.

"In the future, I think we need to be more realistic about what we can expect from Ministers and much more demanding about the performance of officers who are supposed to have the experience and expertise in the areas which the Minister is ultimately responsible for. If the Health Minister has to be a medical professional who is prepared to give up his or her successful career for £46,000 per year, then we really are limiting our choices.

Pictured: Charlie Parker is the States' new Chief Executive, being paid around five times as much as the Chief Minister - but who will carry the can when things go wrong?

"To me, we need prospective politicians who will put the Island first, are smart, have real vision, are honest, hard working, and crucially can work with others to deliver the best for the island long term. Ministers need to focus on policy and strategy and be able to rely on the civil service to implement decisions economically, efficiently and effectively. We then have to make sure politicians have the systems to really hold their officers and advisors to account, and where necessary, the ability to fire those officers, or just move them on easily and quickly when the time comes for a change.

"As islanders we should remember that it is much easier to criticise a big decision than make one - and of course very importantly, if we think we can do better, our chance to prove that is only a few months away. To the extent that we do disagree with our leaders, lets stick to the issues and keep personalities out of it. In my view there is far too much playing the man rather than the ball in Jersey politics, which ultimately is bad for us all."