Stop sneering – Senator Walker’s done a good job
Saturday 8th November 2008, 9:58AM GMT.
From Jeff Le Caudey.
DAVID Eves (JEP, 30 October) and many others seem to think that it is quite acceptable to write unnecessarily unpleasant letters about our government in general and Senator Frank Walker in particular.
Their letters are too often filled with sneers, half-truths and rambling innuendo to be taken seriously.
In turn, may I say thank-you to the States for the GST rebate cheque which arrived this week.
Thank-you for the increase in pension (over 4%), and particularly, thank you to Senator Walker for the calm, reliable, statesmanlike way he has handled ‘The Job’. I wish him good luck in his retirement.
Many Islanders hope that Frank’s replacement will be as well qualified as he has shown himself to be.
10 St Helier Court,
Val Plaisant,
St Helier.
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I note you may be an OAP sir? Let’s not forget who introduced GST and let’s not forget the people who are not able to get a cheque to cover their GST and are not in reciept of a pension to get a 4% rise. Sir, Mr Walker is walking away from his job and leaving Jersey to sink because of his lack of actions. Can some one please put on a list of good things he has done in the four years?
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At which venue is this comedian appearing.
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Mr Walker has announced his retirement from the States and that is a good thing, he scraped into government coming bottom of the poll with a paltry number of votes and then lands the top job, thanks to the politicians that we the people voted in.
Mr Walker has been at the helm of a government that is not only critised by the people but also by his fellow politicians, and when they dare his fellow ministers.
The policies that he has pioneered have eaten away at the culture of this island, he leaves a legacy of what?……………..has his government managed to get spending under control, NO, has his government listened to the people YES, has his governmnet taken much notice, Not really!
Has his government given us the reform that Clothier recommended, NO.
He leaves us with a Communications Department that will probably run out of spin, I doubt that Mr Le Sueur will be able to run such a tight ship as Mr Walker as clearly the latter has good man management skills.
Jersey is heading towards a benefits culture as never before seen on the island, universal benefits will diminish as tax payers support the needy in our community, it will take a brave man/woman to undo the damage inflicted on Jersey whilst Mr Walker was at the helm, and only time will be the judge………….
I see a future where the indigenous people of Jersey will become the forgotten as only the more wealthy will be able to survive and prosper………..There has already been a tranch of outward migration not only of our young, but the middle aged too, as previously in our history, peoplee will leave for a better life for themselves and there children. A life that hopefully will be lived where hard work and endevour will meen more than just making ends meet.
Jersey under this government is geared towards attracting professionals into the island, and ensurimg thta social policy isaccomodating to them, for instance the change in housing poicy to which has ensured that only the very wealthy can purchase a home, social housing stocks have been allowed to become rundown through lack of investment- at a time when income exceeded expenditure, WHY?
The needs of the indigenous population count for very little and until we get real a fair electoral process very little will change as the system keeps this paternalistic government firmly in power……remember that 50% of the electoate do not vote.
Thank you for retiring Mr Walker – that is a start!
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The electorate should be able to vote for the new Chief Minister and not just from those States Members who put their names forward.
These are desperate times and we need someone at the helm who will unite a fractured house – not someone who will only create further friction. This is not constructive and delays good policies unnecessarily, simply because the “right” person has not proposed them.
We also need someone who will represent Jersey internationally in a dignified manner and treat others with respect.
As we are not likely to be able to vote for the new CM in the conceivable future, I hope the new house will see sense and elect such a person, not someone they know from the outset is not wanted in this position by many of the electorate.
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I prefer the people that are in now then some of the people that are trying to put themselves forward now.
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Sara. So do the majority of the population as witnessed by the recent election, but the question has to be why. I think most people agree that the current States Chamber hasn’t covered itself in glory but yet we prefer to re-elect rather than appoint some of the new candidates. Regrettably in working out who I would vote for, I started by discounting those who I percieved as unelectable and that left a very small pool to chose from. I repeat that the Island will not elect people who do nothing but criticise. We need better quality candidates with cohesive and well thought out policies. Otherwise it will be more of the same and that is worrying
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Most of the recent candidates followed the same line, anti GST but with no idea how to replace it; Historic Child Abuse when the enquiry has not even finished and some of the youngsters were claiming to be saviours for the elderly.
This is why the same people stay in. The wannabe replacements are simply not good enough.
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The same people got back in beacause of voter turnout simple as that..rs
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Geno – “So do the majority of the population (prefer the people that are in now) as witnessed by the recent election.”
Wrong
The amount of votes for the non-establishment figures and those who were not previously senators (change) was 70,015. By contrast, the votes for those members of the establishment who were already sitting (staus quo) was 41,225.
Clearly the vast majority of the population wanted change.
The problem was that the amount of votes for non establishment or new faces was split amongst too many candidates. Less is more as they say.
As for Walker, glad to see tha back of him.
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I do have to agree with Sara. Having lived in many countries and now married to a Jerseyman and living in Jersey, I do think the Jersey people have to count their blessings and stop the constant moaning. Jersey is actually a great place to live, we have good schools, good health care, it’s friendly and safe, plenty of jobs for those who are employable so our politians must be something right! Yes, it’s expensive here but somethings are worth paying for.
Compared to the UK, our incomes taxes, GST rate, parish rates are all mcuh lower than their income tax, VAT and council taxes!!
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Couldn’t agree more with you last sentence Sara. All for change but the candidates for the Senatorials were simple too weak.
Unfortunately, with local earnings so attractive, I can’t see, outside of retirees, too many strong candidates coming forward in the future to change this. Hopefully, someone will emerge in the future to prove me wrong.
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I think some people worry about new people getting into the States and ruining the Island because it simply not as bad as some young people make out. In the UK they are currently putting over a 1,000 people out of work everyday at the moment. You get the impression that some of the younger newer candidates are incapable of making comparisons. When you cut the chaff from the wheat you can see that their claims are blown out of proportion. So I was very pleased with the recent election results.
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Bean up all night… you cannot presume that everyone who voted for non-senators would still vote for a non-senator if their eventual choice had not been available.
Sara and Geno are clearly correct, the new candidates appear to be just as worringly useless as the old. We have no skilled people putting themselves up for election these days. This is simply because the capable people in the Island can earn a lot more money in the private sector.
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Bean up all night, I take your point, but as everyone knows that we operate a first past the post system, I stick by the sentiment of my comment. If you wish to chance the current composition of the states, the opposition needs to be better organised. The establishment will always win out if the opposition spends its time howling at the moon and preaching to the converted. A sensible coherent centre left opposition which organises their supporters, a la the Democrats in the US, would stand a real chance of effecting meaningful change despite the presence of the Constables in the States
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I totally agree with you Geno that the opposition must be better organised. My point was simple. More people voted for change than for the establishment. Fact. It is also a fact that those Senators standing for re-election, garnered more votes than they had in their previous campaign.
It is fair to say that if the eventual choice were not available that the elector may not have voted for a non-establishment figure but it is also wrong to presume that they would have. The fact remains that there were many more votes for change than there were to keep the status quo. They were just diluted.
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I think we get lumbered with the kind of politicians we deserve over here. Greed/avarice and incompetence are the defining characteristics of our island in this part of the 21st century.
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Paul, you are probably right, though avarice has been a jersey quality for a long time. We’ve built up a dynamic economy but the politicians we have tend to be also-rans in my opinion.
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Tell me i’m wrong but is Frank Walker not the very man who said the Historical Abuse Case would be given all the money required to fully operate but isn’t he also the very man complaining about how much has been spent on the case? Glad he is leaving after causing Mr Harper and his time grief.
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