SMOKERS, drinkers and drivers might well be breathing sighs of relief today – as might pub landlords and those in other branches of the hospitality industry.
The reason? The defeat yesterday in the States of Budget proposals, which, had they been accepted, would have increased duty on tobacco, alcohol and fuel by very substantial margins.

Unfortunately, satisfied as so many consumers might be with the outcome of the debate on duty, it produced losers as well as winners. In a sense, the major loser is the Island as a whole, in as much as £4 million in revenues that will not now accrue must be added to next year’s forecast £60 million budgetary deficit.

But yesterday’s debate was about far more than public finances, important though they undoubtedly are. It was a clear indication that lines of demarcation in Jersey politics are shifting significantly and that the Council of Ministers cannot be confident of winning every proposition that they bring to the House.

It has been obvious for a long time that there is a body of opinion in the States diametrically opposed to the ministerial power block. The gainsayers have lacked the numbers to make their collective voice count on most occasions, but there are now signs that a third group of Members with no fixed allegiance to either the Council of Ministers or their regular opponents is exercising important influence.

In the case of the clash over duty increases, Deputy Sean Power led the charge against Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf and his ministerial colleagues. Encouraged by his success and his declaration that he was standing up for the interests of ‘middle Jersey’, others are likely to follow suit.

This might be deeply inconvenient for the Council of Ministers and, some will say, it might sometimes prejudice their chances of introducing vital legislation in a timely fashion. On the whole, however, Deputy Power’s demonstration that resistance is by no means futile must be good for Island democracy.

One of the major criticisms of the ministerial system as it is currently framed is that it concentrates too much power in too few hands. At the very least, yesterday’s ministerial defeat suggests that it is within the grasp of rank and file
Members to say thus far and no further when they believe this to be the appropriate action.