ISLANDERS could still block the 3% Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Jersey’s first referendum.

The Constable of St Helier, Simon Crowcroft, is making a last-gasp effort to let the public have their say on whether they agree with the sales tax or not. It is due to be introduced next May. The Constable – who is up for re-election in December – is in the process of lodging a proposition for States debate that would bar the introduction of GST until the public had backed it in a referendum. He says that if ministers are confident that they have carried out a proper consultation process and have given the public a fair say, they should have nothing to fear from the referendum. Referendums give everyone on the electoral roll the chance to vote on a specific issue but are rare in British politics – the most famous use was the 1975 UK referendum on staying in the EEC. Jersey has never held one. Mr Crowcroft said that he had supported the original decision to set up GST but that his position had changed. He said: ‘When the Fiscal Strategy was debated just over two years ago I supported the introduction of GST on two grounds: firstly, because we were reassured that a new income support system would be in place this year and we would have ample opportunity to ensure that it adequately met the needs of the less well off to protect them from the effects of GST before it was introduced, and secondly, because the States were going to make serious efforts to cut expenditure and decrease their reliance on new taxes.’