THERE can be little doubt that a great many of the 10,000 people who signed the Jersey Democratic Alliance petition which will be presented to the States next week were registering a protest against any increase in the Goods and Services Tax.

It is certainly the case that the petition was heavily billed as an anti-GST initiative. It is also the case that signage used at the point in St Helier where signatures were collected focused heavily on the GST issue.

Where, then, is the mention of GST in the prayer of the petition – the form of words which will actually be put before the States? Nowhere, is the succinct answer.

Those who signed lent their names to this demand: ‘We, the undersigned, petition the States of Jersey as follows: To request the Chief Minister to bring a proposition asking the States to dismiss the Minister for Treasury and Resources.’

Now it is no doubt true that a proportion of those who signed are opposed not only to an increase in GST, but also to Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf and much of what he stands for politically. That, however, is no excuse for the JDA’s bizarre conduct in respect of the petition. It is hard to escape the conclusion that the party has either been politically incompetent or politically devious.

Either way, the worth of its 10,000-signature document has been fatally undermined. Indeed, a high level of effrontery will be required of Deputy Geoff Southern, the JDA’s sole States Member, if he actually takes the petition to the States next week. He will be wasting the Assembly’s time with the fruits of a hopelessly botched attempt at sampling Island opinion.

It must, meanwhile, be emphasised that the absence of any reference to GST in the terms of a petition that we were led to believe was all about GST is more than a theoretical problem. Signatories are already complaining that they were either actively hoodwinked or misled through incompetence into supporting a political sacking rather than a change of fiscal policy.

We shall never know how many people added their names to the petition while labouring under a misapprehension about its nature, but the appropriate action for the JDA would be to bin the results of their efforts and retreat in shame and embarrassment.

In the wake of such a farcical own goal, the organisation can no longer expect to be taken seriously by the States, the Island in general or voters in the autumn elections.