Politicians’ salaries need to be “a lot less or a lot more” in order to attract “better” candidates, according to the Environment Minister.
Speaking to business leaders yesterday, Deputy Steve Luce said the current £50,000-a-year pay packet meant it would be “bonkers” for most private sector professionals to leave their offices behind in favour of the States Chamber.
The comments came during a Chamber of Commerce Lunch event in which the Minister was asked to give an update on ongoing reform of Planning.
But in a subsequent Q&A session, conversation soon turned to whether Jersey’s own political system was functioning effectively or needed reform.
Deputy Luce said the system “works okay” but raised concerns about low voter turnout and the difficulty of attracting candidates.
Would better candidates lead to more voting?
The island has, over the years, consistently seen a low turnout in its elections.
In 2020, Jersey was found to have the lowest turnout of the OECD’s 38 member countries with just 43.4% of islanders voting in 2018.
The 2022 election was no better, with a turnout of 41.6%.
According to a local think tank, the main reasons that people gave for not voting in the 2022 election were that it wouldn’t have made a difference, that they didn’t trust the political system, they’re not interested in the election, and they didn’t know enough about the candidates.
A recent survey that asked how voter turnout could be increased revealed that a quarter of respondents supported introducing mandatory voting.
The most popular suggestion – supported by 39% of survey respondents – was increasing awareness of postal voting and pre-polling options.
Deputy Sam Mézec and the States Greffe have also advocated for automatic voter registration, where individuals would be added to the electoral register when they turn 16 or after living in Jersey for two years.
Changing the day of elections is also being explored, after an analysis of global voting patterns between 1945 and 2020 found that Sunday was the most popular election day worldwide, with over 60% of elections held on that day.
While proposals to introduce Sunday elections have been suggested as a way to increase participation, Deputy Luce was sceptical and argued that having a stronger crop of candidates to choose from in the first place would be a more effective solution.
“We must find a way of getting more people coming out and voting. I think we need to do that by having more and better candidates,” he said.
Does a better salary a better politician make?
The discussion then shifted to politicians’ salaries, with Chamber CEO Murray Norton – himself a former Minister – questioning whether higher pay would encourage stronger candidates to stand for election.
Deputy Luce argued that the current pay level is set at “the worst possible place” and does not provide enough incentive for experienced professionals from the private sector to enter politics.
“My view on pay is that we’re visiting exactly the wrong place. It either needs to be a huge lot less or a huge lot more,” he said.
“It needs to be there enough to allow everybody to stand, but the chances of pulling successful people out of the private sector to become a politician – you’d be bonkers.”
Deputy Luce also spoke about the personal toll of being a politician, particularly online abuse directed at States Members and their families.
“You need to be prepared to take a huge amount of abuse. In some cases, you need to be prepared for your family to take a huge amount of abuse, which is completely unacceptable,” he said.
Despite these challenges, he argued that the role is still “worth it”. “If you can get into government and you can choose some positive change, it’s worthwhile.”
…and who should get more?
The current Assembly of States Members are each paid £50,000 per annum, regardless of whether they take on additional Ministerial or Scrutiny responsibilities. An independent reviewer previously suggested Ministers should receive more.
Back in 2017, then-Chief Minister Ian Gorst narrowly missed out on a 15% pay rise when a proposition failed to pass the States Assembly.
During the debate, some recognised the significance of the extra responsibilities that the Chief Minister takes on while others suggested it was not right to implement sliding pay scales.
In comparison, Guernsey politicians receive between £43,000 and £76,000 depending on the level of responsibility.
In the Isle of Man, the basic salary for a Member of the House of Keys is £75,907 per annum – and the Chief Minister receives 30% more, with Ministers receiving 15% more.
States Members do not receive any additional ‘allowances’. The only claimable expenses relate to travel outside Jersey on States business.
They cannot claim any reimbursement for most of the costs they incur in carrying out their role, such as fuel or transport, printing, stationery, administrative support, or buying coffee for a constituent.
The only additional benefit that States Members receive is the contribution to their pension. They do not receive bonuses, private healthcare or other benefits as might be the case in many parts of the private sector, such as financial services.