More than 10,000 Islanders ‘support call to sack Ozouf’
Monday 24th January 2011, 2:59PM GMT.
JDA president Ted Vibert with the petition
MORE than 10,000 Islanders have signed a petition to sack Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf.
The petition, organised by the Jersey Democratic Alliance, will be presented to the States next week by its sole representative in the States, Deputy Geoff Southern.
The president of the party has defended the petition after questions were raised over whether all the signatories knew what they were signing up to.
The petition has been presented and promoted by the JDA as if it were a proposal to freeze the GST rate at 3% instead of increasing it to 5% as the States agreed last month, as well as being a motion of no confidence in the ‘chancellor’.
But the ‘prayer’ of the petition – what it formally asks the States to do – does not refer to cuts or taxes at all: it just calls on Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur to sack Senator Ozouf.
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Great, I suggest these 10,000 people come up with some suggestions of how to reduce the deficit and cope with the ageing population!
Keep GST, raise it to 5%, make cuts in corporate tax, attract new business to the island with new talented people and hope that in a few years someone with some common sense can get into the States and make this island a place where business and people can live in harmony!
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More immature politics from a party that has no other solutions to the Island problems but to attack our savings.
And you only have to look back at Southern’s by-election results of last Summer to see where the JDA really stands in voters minds.
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10,000 and 1, me too, i didn’t see the form but would have signed it.
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i signed it, and knew what i was signing.
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Just about sums ted Vibert up.
A petition signed by Mickey mouse and the famous four (not sure but I think my dog paw foot printed it as well) who did not even know what the petition was about.
And then he gets the peoples reject, twice failed red Geoff to take it to the States. The only states member left after the wets jumped ship when he took the helm.
TED give up your past it
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Next week, outside a supermarket near you – a petition asking the States to appoint Geoff Southern President for life. People will be asked to sign it if they like the X-Factor or labrador puppies.
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….”questions were raised over whether all the signatories knew what they were signing up to”
I think the same could apply to those who voted for the big O. Part of what they signed up for was 3% GST. Funnily enough it is soon to be 5%.
As an aside who were the ones asking this question? Without names then how does anyone know it isn’t an establishment ploy to try and rubbish the petition and those expressing their displeasure by signing it?
Anyway quite a few I know haven’t signed the petition yet.
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There are plenty of signees who have been duped here, not to mention the tourists and other visitors who will sign anything put in front of them. I imagine Mr Ozouf’s standing in the community will go up when people realise what has happened here. I can hear another nail being driven into the JDA’s coffin as i write.lol
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What utter nonsence and this is why the Island never progresses with so called progressives.
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Slightly misleading headline here, as most of the signatories were not supporting a call to sack Ozouf but rather were in support of a GST freeze and were unaware of what they were signing. Perhaps the headline should be reworded as “10000 Islanders *unknowingly* support call to sack Ozouf”.
I personally was approached in King Street and asked to sign this, and there was no mention whatsoever of removing the minister from his position. I sure am pleased that I chose to not sign it now, as whilst I certainly don’t want GST increased I don’t really see any viable alternative – the protestors in King Street certainly didn’t have one, other than borrowing from the fiscal stimulus fund.
Now I’m no fan of Philip Ozouf, but I’d rather have him in charge than Ted Vibert, especially as he has now shown that he’s not afraid to use false pretences in order to get his own way.
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Walking through town and having to listen to this guy shouting, all i heard was to sign to stop GST, nothing about getting Ozouf fired.
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What,,,,Only 10,000.I Thought,at least,80,000.
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Seems the JDA’s methods are no different to that of the Minister they claim to be duping the people. Don’t blame the JDA for that tactic however, for me anyone who signed the petition is a little vulnerable to the power of suggestion in the first place.
Hope these signatures are audited. I seem to recall a lot of made up names in the last GST petition.
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When I was in town the other day, the JDA members were there calling for signatures to stop a rise in GST.
I heard nothing about sacking Senator Ozouf.
Not that I signed the petition but I wonder how many people who did sign now feel that they were misled?
If so this is very poor form.
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If it’s the voice of the people, it’s bound to be ignored.
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To be fair,and I’m not an “O” fan,some only thought they were supporting no increase in GST,that said many will have ..it is important to be precise the message can be diluted, either way an awful lot of peole do want him out and don’t want more GST. that is irrefutable.
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as much as I dislike Ozouf, I would not *** on him if he was on fire, the tatics used by the JDA throws the petition out on its ear…….Had they been upfront in the first place there would of been 20,000 signatures!!!!!!
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1.sunk..That’s an easy one to answer…STOP SPENDING our money.dhoh
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Sunk (1). You forgot to introduce Capital Gains Tax!
Suggestions: (a) Slim the Civil Service, starting at the top. (b) Enforce beget responsibility (no more £6m incinerator gaffs) (c) Privatise all the States of Jersey QANGOs (d) sell of surplus estate + all the offices vacated by the redundant civil servants (made redundant as there is no more money to waste)
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truthseeker (16) that is irrefutable.
But wait for the plaintiff bleat of the Real Tough Screecher, the aledged lone voice of the silent majority.
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The current process for voting or signing petitions, in my humble opinion, is a tad dated and open to risk of fraud, duplication or miscalculation in votes.
We are now in 21st century so isn’t it about time that all eligible residents/voters were offered a “voting card” with bar code or something which could be scanned and the chosen response attached to the relevant voting subject???
Maybe this would encourage more people to vote….if nothing else it could at least tell us who (how many) has NOT voted and we could get a better idea of how many people we actually have in the voting population…….
just a thought.
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Walked past Southern and Vibert twice on Saturday, they were shouting out “sign a petition to stop GST on food” and just “stop GST”, no mention of Ozouf at all. A friend did sign and her twelve year old daughter was also invited to sign, but was shocked today to find out what she had signed, she sad it was the first and last petition she will ever sign. I wonder how many others really knew what they were signing ?
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Utter rubbish from the JDA, just like the vote by our local councillors(deputies) to get rid of four island elected senators.I looked at the vote and there was only one deputy that I had a vote with, whom was in favour of this absurd and undemocratic notion, which must now go to an island wide referendum.
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The above comments aside, anyone can praise or castigate Ozouf, Southern, Vibert or whoever.
I judge a man on his actions.
He promised in the Chamber, maybe under Oath, that GST would NOT be raised.
Basically he lied. Lied to all the Ministers present, lied to the Bailiff and lied to the very people who put him a very privileged position.
Does he have high enough ethics to become our next CM?
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I signed the petition on the understanding that this was all about stopping the increase of the GST rate. Of course I was not impressed with Mr Ozouf’s u-turn on this tax but I did not sign the petition for the man to be sacked.
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My dog insisted I create a petition to have Phillip Ozouf covered in pedigree chum so that him and his pals from the park could lick it off.
I provided the paper and the ink blotter and by the time the dogs had finished there were at least 50000 paw prints on the petition.
Is anyone taking me seriously yet or have I just made my point.
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The only place for this petition is in one of those confidential schredding bins that are placed in most offices.
It really is a case of not being worth the paper it is written on !
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Zoro was there at the Grouville hustings when Ozouf was asking for the parishoners votes…”what is your stance on GST” he was asked to his face out loud there could be no misunderstanding…. NO he was against it he said along with some irrelevant waffle I won’t bore you with,then went on to reassure others that was the case…then again in the house….a bare faced liar my mum would have said.
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I agree with GST and the sacking of Ozouf. I’m also in favour of saving the lifeguards, but am against subsidising school fees for private schools. I am also in support of the Whaling conference.
Now, can anyone tell me if there is a petition anywhere that I can sign in support of all of these things in one go.
I’d also lilke to see a petition for the banning of the spelling and grammar police from these forums. They are such a waste of time!
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The solution would be for Ted Vibert to rescind the current petition and, following all this beneficial publicity, start again with two petitions on his stall.
There’s a good chance that each could prove to be extremely popular in its own right.
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As one of those involved who spent a morning in assisting with the petition I can assure you that there was no one who made a distinction between getting rid of Ozouf and opposing the rises in GST. They understand the source of their troubles and who is responsible. As a test, I even asked one lady as she was signing if she was aware the petition was calling for the dismissal of the Treasury Minister. She was shocked. She asked if she could sign twenty times in that case.
Lets be honest, low and middle income earners are facing harsh economic times. They realise the government is stealing from them when it should be raising taxes from those who have got it to give. Its about class. The Council of Millionaires are looking after the rich. Eleven thousands signatures is a bombshell politically. The problem is that the working classes are atomised and not organised politically. The government media, and scribblers here, just seek to reinforce cynicism and sow confusion. The people are angry and that is why the BBC Radio Jersey have closed down the lunchtime phone-in and relegated Talkback to damp Thursdays. Anyone seriously looking for enlightenment need not bother reading any further on this topic. The people are angry.
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I feel a Law suit comming !
Petitions have been duped!!!!
Have they now adjusted the heading on the petition that people signed! Someone should look into this.
Maybe they can sued for wrongful use of their signature !
As Mum said, never put your name to anything with out a Lawyer viewing it first!!!
Maybe Mr Ozouf could also look at the issue of helping eldery who can’t afford heating!!!
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14 Spring Heeled Jack & others – the petition was advertised as objecting to the 5% rise in GST, if any mention was made of sacking Ozeuf I didn’t hear or see it.
I didn’t sign as I don’t see an alternative, nor do I hear the JDA offering a viable one.
Take your medicine, tighten your belt and lets get through this together, I’m not saying Ozeuf has everything right but at least he’s not an ostrich.
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I am the same as you Karen because I’d rather have Senator Ozouf steering us through recession than people who only want to raid our savings to keep an expensive civil service going.
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The JDA is a waste of space. Ozouf is probably the most competant politician in the whole States assembly. How about a counter-petition to keep Ozouf in his post, whilst removing Southern from office….now that’s a petition I would sign.
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I believe Mr Vibert to be a bully, and like many bullies to have delusions of victimhood. Please, anyone who is tempted to vote this aggressive man into office, look again at his actual track record. Whilst we all abhor bullies. I do not attack him for being unable to fulfil a duty through illness, but twice, at our expense, he has started something he was unable to finish. Please, for the sake of us all, including Mr Vibert, do not allow him to paint himself into yet another corner. Whilst I personally loathe his policy and particularly his haranguing methods, it is good to see healthy debate in the press – reflecting well on our island civilisation, those who stand for office and those of us who vote. I hope that my views might be published as unexpurgated as Mr Vibert’s so often are.
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JDA
The right direction for Jersey (sort of)
The completely wrong approach
Shooting themselves and everybody else in the foot
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Great idea, but lets all be entirely honest,it is just NEVER going to happen.
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I signed this petition on the belief that it was to stop GST… not sack Ozouf.
While I am not a great fan of Ozouf (and must admit I wouldn’t be upset if he left), I am not happy with the continuous increase in prices in Jersey… especially with GST as this is on the rise… never mind that most businesses don’t bother removing the VAT price on their products.
I’m a teenager not a millionaire! I own a Fiesta not a Ferrari! Perhaps if the states stopped wasting so much money and start bringing in money through other ways instead of “raise the tax!” then we all might be able to afford a bit more.
Perhaps a suggestion… get Tourism sorted… Jersey use to be renowned for that before the bankers turned up…
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My thirteen year old step daughter signed because she and her friends thought it would be a grown up thing to do. Said it was something to do with GST but that was the extent of her reasoning.
Her example might explain to many why the JDA is able to manufacture headline grabbing numbers from its antics and then gets regularly trounced in the elections, to the extent that some of them dissociated themselves from the Party to get themselves elected and then joined again. And then resigned again over something or other.
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Just read Wendy’s contribution. She and her drinking buddies may be angry, but how dare they presume to speak for the majority. In my drinking den, people are angry about the ridiculously high level of States expenditure.
Wendy’s assurances about the conduct of the petition mean nothing given that she allowed a group of thirteen year old girls to sign who had no idea what it was about. Undermines the whole thing in my mind.
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Actually Mr Vibert – you are wrong. Most people who signed that petition did not call for Ozouf’s sacking.
Misleading to the extreme – then what else do you expect from the JDA.
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Some of the times I signed the petition it was for GST. So can these count and the other times I signed it not count? Or is it the other way around?
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This makes me really annoyed. The shouting to walkers was “stop GST”, and “tax the rich”. There was NOTHING said about sacking Ozouf.
I will certainly never vote for JDA, because this is so immature. I believe many have been tricked into signing something they wouldn’t have otherwise signed.
I would sign a petition to get rid of JDA and pathetic men like Southern who can’t win votes through honesty and good work
My belief in the States Assembly is reduced more and more
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Wendy
“As a test, I even asked one lady as she was signing if she was aware the petition was calling for the dismissal of the Treasury Minister. She was shocked. She asked if she could sign twenty times in that case.”
Wendy, that is the whole point! The lady signing was shocked, ie she was not aware, until you ‘tested’ her, that you were ‘calling for the dismissal etc’ Hence her ‘shocked’ reaction. Shocked whether or not she agreed with you and your unfortunate policies.
For your signatures to have any validity each and every person who signed should have been made aware of your true intent, its evident that this was not the case from comments posted above.
Having said that R B Bougourd above is clearly the voice of reason. It’s the means that are justly under attack, not necessarily the outcome.
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An interesting exercise but hardly likely to make much difference in the grand scheme of things. What JDA and others should be doing is lobbying the Government over States reforms. A huge mistake has been made by the States getting rid of 4 Senatorial Seats. The island wide mandate is so important for so many reasons. However, it is a fact that we have too many seats occupied by ineffective politicians who do little for this island. We need reform and we need it quickly and sadly that means yet another review but; as so many people recognize the obvious way forward is to ask the Constables to go back to their Parish Halls and focus their efforts on looking after Parish matters not States. Removal of these 12 seats in the House is the best way of reducing paid membership of the Assembly. Constables should be remunerated by the Parishioners not the States although, a top up scheme could be set up to ensure all Constables receive a fair salary based on the numbers of parishioners they serve. We need then to have a General Election for the remaining seats with 12 Senatorial seats and the remaining seats being Members of The States Assembly or MSA’s who represent each parish constituency based on head count. Each MSA should represent a minimum number of voters say; at least 500 per MSA. Total membership of The States should be; 12 Senators 39 MSA’s total 41 elected members.The Dean should continue as the Head of The Church as a non voting member and please can we have an elected Speaker of The States Assembly to ensure total impartiality? Removal of The Bailiff is essential to provide Separation of Powers as in the UK Parliament.We need only Ministers of each of the big 5 departments and a committee system of scrutiny consisting of elected members and appointed members from within the population on a volunteer basis but receive an honorarium. We live in hope that our elected assembly wakes up to the need for a real and determined change to achieve a modern and fit for purpose means of governing this island.
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My extended Irish family on their first ever trip to Jersey were harangued into signing – all 12 of them! They don’t know what GST is, but were cajoled to sign on the basis that noone anywhere likes tax… Very mature politics, not!
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Ozouf lied to the public to get in,both at the hustings and then in the house…so he wanted your vote but not to represent you,to do what he wanted,bit like naughty boys telling girls “Yes of course I love you” to have their way with them then ditch them…so he promises one thing to get elected.then does what he wants..I call that obtaining votes by false pretences…and as such should go….we go to vast lengths to teach children to be honest…and then we get this….perhaps our teachers should say “Look kids if you want to get on in life, lie,deceive,con and cheat …that’s what to do….nice….not.
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What a farce the petition saga has turned out to be. Makes a mockery of petitions and people will be put off signing anything in future. I signed the petition based on the GST aspect at no time was Senator Ozouf mentioned and I am ashamed to say I did not read the ‘blurb’ at the top or ask anything. A powerful lesson learnt.
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less than 10% of the island- i know id prefer to pay mose gst than income tax.
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I think all this needs a “Hedley ” song written!
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How about a single petition to sack Senator Ozouf.
I know many people who would sign that.
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I have been walking through town the last 2 Saturdays.
I quite definitely heard on both occasions Southern shout “Sack Ozouf”- and not just once.Ted Vibert positioned himself bang in the middle of the high street causing an obstruction to people wanting to go about their every day business.
The JDA must realise that they will remain a laughing stock until they put forward rational and acheivable counter propsals solutions to issues within Jersey-not merely providing a platform for peronal attack and rubbishing of policies for the sake of it.
I would suggest Deputy Southern returns to teaching as he is not a credible choice for an intelligent electorate.
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do an online vote next time the whole island would vote to get rid of ozouf
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Jersey politics is a mystery to me! I too believed the petiton to be against raising the rate in June…..Philip Ozouf’s name was never mentioned…..lots of us of have been hood winked. I will be retracting my signature….as they say ‘never trust a ‘politician’!
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52 you are right..he is out of touch with the population except when toadying around the finance boys,saying “ERR” all the time and playing with his blackberry, I do not feel the people will warm to him again as he so blatantly lied to them…shot himself in the foot there and as for becoming Constable in St,Saviour after..think he can kiss that dream goodbye.
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The ESTABLISHMENT party strikes again. This will only cause apathy with voters this year and allow more establishment members easy access to our funds and future. Fill the coaches full of ageing population take them down to the polling station and ther you have it, a position in the States Chamber. Was the Senator in question not responsible for Economic development in his previous role in the States? I did not see any development just spend spend spend! 90% of the persons that signed would have signed even if known to them the real reason was a vote of no confidence in someone who has back tracked from his election manifesto, the reason why 8,500 persons voted for him. I wander how many politicians would admit to belong to the ESTABLISHMENT party? At least the JDA are not hiding and actually doing something to change the dictatorship that we ALL are under.
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where is the proposal to sack ted? oh, there isn’t one, because he’s not elected. and therein lies a lesson.
put up or shut up you windbags.
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“where is the proposal to sack ted? oh, there isn’t one, because he’s not elected. and therein lies a lesson.
put up or shut up you windbags.”
And the crowd of unopposed Constables and Deputies from the rotten country boroughs that prop up this dishonest administration.
What have you to say to them?
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Pip – as usual you rant and rave without a shred of evidence or fact. You are a misaligned individual to go and make claims without any substantion.
Where is the dishonesty in the administration? Last I saw were constables and deputies who had been challenged. St Ouen where as far as I am aware not – because everyone in St Ouen is happy with their performance. If they weren’t they would have been challenged. Where did they prop up and how exactly…
Typical, Pip doesn’t let fact get in the way of his opinions – would be too much to ask otherwise.
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You should all know by now, you can get as many signatures as you want it wont change anything, It is always the working people that end up paying over the odds , as most States Depts are on the decline time will tell, “Watch this space”
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With little more than a wet rag for a handshake, our dear little Finance Minister brings little to the table when it comes to governing and representing the people of this Island – so fire Ozouf and he will only be replaced by more of the same.
Unfortunately the Finance Minister, like all of his colleagues in the CoM, is no more than a timid little messenger boy employed by the senior back room Civil Servants who are actually in charge and running the Island. At the end of the day, one can clearly see that it was the Senior Civil Servants who were ultimately responsible for instigating the introduction of GST into our now messed up Island life.
So whether or not the fairy Finance Minister meant what he said when campaigning for office or whether he broke his word and lost what integrity he once had, is of little relevance. Because, like all of his other Ministerial Colleagues, he simply has had no real say in either forming policy or how the Island is to be run – that task has been high jacked by the unelected senior Civil Servants; for them Ozouf and his Ministerial colleagues are simply immaterial when it comes to putting their own economic agenda into place.
Obviously the Island’s electorate needs to find some real balls for itself first, before it can ever hope to gain some form of “accountable” representation in the governance and running of our public affairs.
Nevertheless, States Members are the ones who were and are, ultimately responsible for the mess we are in. It is they and they alone, who decided to vote GST into law – not you or I or even the Civil Servants who were behind the idea in the first place – and although I’m sure there was some strong unelected bureaucratic arm-twisting along the way, it was the States Members who had the last word on the issue and could have said NO to the Idea – had a little more integrity been found among the States Assembly – our elected house of fools!
As for the JDA and its UK socialist slag-heap type tactics – beware of those who are always crying over what is Fair or not Fair – for it is said that, “those who speak of Fairness have seven abominations in their hearts”
However, this is what one must expect from the JDA – a gang of pinheads who have never in their lives, ever created a single private sector job or a penny’s worth of wealth for the Island. Most, if not all of these pinheads have spent their “short working” lives feeding out of the public sector trough – until boarding the political gravy-train!
All the JDA understands is how to tax and spend, which the controlling Civil Servants stealthily encourage them to do, because either way and in the end, it’s the Civil Servants at the top of the slag heap who will wind up getting what they always wanted in the first place – more money and more power!
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Another fantasy post from Real Truthseeker in which he confuses an absence of opposition with positive support.
Most people view the States and particularly the junior members as irrelevant.
Most parishes scrabble around for a retired farmer or such like who fancies £44K for administering dog licences, attending the old folk’s beetle drive, regular Sunday morning appearances at the local church and a chat about spuds over coffee after.
The real joke is that the junior members, Constables and Deputies, have voted to cut the numbers of the senior members, the Senators, so more people with little or no mandate will have to serve in the Council of Ministers!
A huge victory for democracy
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Although I cannot stand the sight or sound of Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur, he was bang on the money when he said, “It will make no difference even if there are 100,000 signatures” when referring to GST.
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pip your post no 63 i could not have put better my self. real truthseeker as you will probebly remember when you first started posting on this site i defended you against truthseeker but i must say that reading a lot of your posts lately you are now starting to sound as bad as him stop making everything personal
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