From Lauren Perkins.
AS a 16-year-old member of the Jersey community, I am extremely disappointed by the results of last week’s election.

I’m also shocked, I thought these elections were to be different and I thought people were really going to consider carefully where to put their crosses. To me this can’t have been the case, unless people actually think the current States Members are doing a fantastic job, or they really do want to keep GST and build an enormous incinerator.

Bar one person, none of the people I voted for were actually elected, but there were a few others who I still would have liked to become Senators. They weren’t successful either. This worries me, as I thought people wanted change and some new faces and fresh ideas in the States to help sort things out.

I thought long and hard over the few weeks in which the hustings were taking place about who I was going to vote for. I read each candidate’s entry in the JEP, went to one of the hustings and read all of their proposals. I was looking for people who seemed to truly care for our Island, to care for the people and the environment and based on these things I made my choice.

I just don’t believe that anyone who was truly worried about any of these things would have voted for some of the candidates. I’m just wondering how much people actually thought about who they were voting for, because one thing struck me in particular, which is the fact that the people who spent the most on their campaigns and had the biggest posters seem to have got in. Jersey looks increasingly like money is the only thing that influences us.

I was really hoping for some people in the States who actually care about the future of Jersey and about the next generation. Unfortunately this just hasn’t happened. As a young adult, making decisions about my future, this has helped me decide that I don’t particularly want to live in Jersey, as there seems to be no hope.

I genuinely don’t understand why people have made the decision to vote the current States Members back in. What good have they done for us and what hope is there for the young generation? Please could someone answer this question for me?
53 Garden Lane,
St Helier.