As well as campaigning for island wide voting to continue during his time in the States, Tony Webber also pushed for a referendum law to be introduced – which it was, but only enacted to allow the first referendum to be held this week, some years after he lost his seat as a deputy.
Mr Webber has kept a close eye on local and national politics and although he has not been reelected to the States since 2004, he said this week that he had “never stopped campaigning for the bringing in of Island Wide voting, and have always believed that all States Members should be voted in that way, and not any halfway house scenario, as offered in one of the options ( C ).”
The last time an island wide election was held was to find a Conseiller.
Mr Webber said: “as the last person elected on an Island wide basis back in 1998 before my office ( then known as Conseiller ) was abolished, I had never given up on my hopes for complete Island wide voting. I also, for the same amount of time, have campaigned for Guernsey to be able to legally hold a referendum, and I am delighted that this too has come about. Not only this, but also using a transferable vote system, something I have also campaigned for, which was a first for Guernsey. With this new democratic process, 99% of the people who wanted to vote were able to do so, with a small margin of 1% of voters who experienced voting issues such as not being on the electoral roll when they maintained they should be, and postal voting slips not arriving on time. These were not significant enough to influence the voting result.
“It is ironic that the key politician who seconded me for the office of Conseiller back in 1998, is the organiser and winner of this referendum campaign. This all demonstrates that you should never give up on your political aspirations.”
Mr Webber had supported Option E as well as A ahead of the referendum on Wednesday, and said he would have liked an option where half of the States was elected every two years for a four year term of office. In the end Option A was the clear winner, meaning Mr Webber’s long held wish for island wide voting to replace the parochial election system we had has been realised.
“I very much hope that the result of the referendum will bring about greater democracy in Guernsey,” he said, “and much greater public confidence in the electoral system.
“I believe it will bring about an improved quality in the standard of States Member and that it will contribute to much better quality government.”
He also said that the referendum result in Guernsey could bring about a “revolution in democracy across the UK, the Overseas Territories and other Crown Dependencies.
“All will be likely to re-examine their electoral systems, and the momentum for change will be great. Guernsey could end up being the standard bearer for a renewed form of democracy.”
Having campaigned for the introduction of referenda in Guernsey, Mr Webber said this is an important right that island residents now have.
“Ironically this is Guernsey’s first ever referendum, and the issue of the public to have the right to referenda, is something I have also campaigned for years to achieve. I feel this has come about at least partly to my continuous campaigning on this very important right.
“There have been criticisms of how the referendum questions were put together and placed in a mix of five options,” he acknowledged.
“Many would have preferred a straight question on ‘do you want to have all States Members elected Island Wide?’ and if that had succeeded, then left it to the States to work out the best way of implementing a new system.
“However, it is necessary to deal with the situation as it is.”
Mr Webber also wanted Alderney voters to be involved in a referendum as they had been previously during island wide elections.
“One major fault in this referendum is that it has not included the electors of Alderney.
“Alderney people were entitled to vote for the previous twelve Island Wide (or Bailiwick wide ) Conseillers, as well as having their two Alderney representatives.
“They have definitely been disenfranchised and have been since the elected Conseillers were abolished. The inclusion of Alderney electors in future elections of Island States Members can be brought about by amendment to the new law when it comes to the States.”