THERE was standing room only in St John’s Parish Hall last night for the start of the Senatorial hustings.

The full house for the first meeting provided clear evidence that the stakes have been raised for this year’s elections, with the emergence of two political parties on the stage, the impending move to ministerial government and the Island’s financial troubles all contributing to their importance.

Beginning their gruelling round of the 12 parishes, the 15 Senatorial candidates contesting six seats in the Islandwide poll on 19 October crammed on to the stage to take questions from a 200-strong audience keen to quiz them on government reform, inflation, control of the civil service and the controversial waterfront plans.

Candidates were also asked who they would back in the election for Jersey’s first Chief Minister which will follow the Senatorial election and the voting for parish Deputies taking place on 23 November.

That contest is expected to be between Policy and Resources president Senator Frank Walker, who declined to resign half-way through his current six-year term to seek the endorsement of public re-election, and his leading critic, Senator Stuart Syvret, who topped the poll in 1999 and is among those who hit the hustings trail last night.