Le Marquand denies ‘disrespecting’ Scrutiny
Saturday 30th July 2011, 2:57PM BST.
Home Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand.
HOME Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand has denied claims that he ‘disrespected’ the Scrutiny process following the resignation of a panel.
Members of the Home Affairs and Education Scrutiny panel recently announced that they were resigning, and cited the attitude of Senator Le Marquand as one of the main reasons.
However, the Senator, who earlier this week announced his intention to stand for Chief Minister in the autumn, believes that the move was more to do with ‘a general frustration’ that has built up within the States and that Members who are not Ministers or Assistant Ministers feel disenfranchised.
See Saturday’s JEP for full story.
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The Senator thinks that non-ministers are ‘disenfranchised’, what about the electorate. No one is more disenfranchised than the voters.
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This is the man during the scrutiny interview that “forgot” if he set terms of referance to investigations,coudn’t remember important facts,set no agends to meetings etc etc & he wants to be chief minister,its the likes of him causing the frustration with the general public & the states (the ones that read the scrutiny reports that is)
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It would make a change if some of these scrutiny panel members would grow up and respect other people.
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Ian Le Marquand should stand by his word and resign in order to face re election. If he does that and is re elected then fair play to him at least it proves he is still wanted by the general public.
Two massive lies have come out of this mans mouth, one about that anyone standing for chief minister should have to face an election again before they stand and the other about saying he would resign if a certain acting police chief didnt get the job full time.
Now Ozouf also lied about not increasing GST but he didnt offer his resignation if he didnt get his own way. However, i also think he should stand for re election to show that he still has the support of the majority before becoming chief minister. The only thing in his defence is that he has been re elected in the past which at this time is more than Ian Le Marquand has done.
In an ideal world the public would vote for the chief minister but at the very least and to start making inroads the vote should not be in secret as that is a mockary of democracy and our ministers so called efforts to be transparent.
We have a long way to go until Jersey really has a democratic government and I feel that ILM standing for chief minister after what he has said proves that.
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“….cited the attitude of Senator Le Marquand as one of the main reasons.”
So they resign instead of doing the job they are mean’t to do as soon as someone gives them ‘attitude’?
May as well not put themselves up for re-election.
As for the comment from the Minister..”‘a general frustration’ that has built up within the States”
Why do think there is frustration with you and the Ministers?
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As they said in Profumo, “he would say that, wouldn’t he”?
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I like Senator Le Marquand but I do not think he has a sufficient amount of financial industry knowledge to perform this important function. The treasury minister traditionally would be the natural choice for the CM’s job as it is he/she who has the hands on experience with the Island finances and above all its top industry. Senator Le Marquand’s lack of such important knowledge of this industry would not in my opinion make him the best choice for the top job right now. Going onto this Mr Bean jibe, it is such a shame that we have some States Members behaving like this so let’s hope the voting Public look more carefully at the candidates before voting. Some States Members are unable to get further than just being a deputy for a good reason.
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Ian Le Marquand is a poor candidate for Chief Minister. To give just one of many examples … he has made a complete mess of the BDO alto enquiry into the financial management by the Home Affairs Department and the police of the HDLG enquiry. Mr Bean would have done better.
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Pit it like this, if people ever take time to look at Hansard and search for quotes from people like Montfort Tadier and Trevor Pitman over the past 3 years the first thing they will wonder is why a person with Senator Le Marquand’s experience and qualifications is in the States in the first place. These people are rude at the best of times. They never provide any intelligent alternates to proposals and they abuse the States chamber like a stomping ground for children. The Senator is more than qualified to know what he is doing so don’t bother shedding any tears for these drama queens.
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Anthony Evans # 9 spoke of I.L.M’s experience and qualifications – it doesn’t mean his experience was good. In my view I.L.M. has little or no credibility whatsoever. Just because Messrs Tadier and Pitman are incapable of debating in an adult manner, doesn’t necessarily mean they are wrong. I.L.M. was a magistrate in the style of Wilkins Micawber and his attitudes very much belong in the 19th century – he has no place in the 21st century.
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Arrogant, pompous, out of touch and uninspiring. Perfect candidate for CM.
Its a done deal people, mark my words, the whole of the States know its coming.
Le Sueur, Ozouf, Cohen, Le Marquand et al hold the man in the street in utter contempt.
But hey this is Jersey. Apathy Rules.
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Just to back up what i said about Ian Le Marquand this is straight from the horses mouth from his website
“The present electoral system means that once individuals have been elected to the States (which includes Senators for 6 years) they do not have to pay much attention to the views of the public until just before their next election date (if they are standing again). Furthermore, it is the members of the States who decide who will be the Chief Minister and the other ministers and the public have almost no say on this. It cannot be right that a person can be chosen as the Chief Minister without their popularity having been tested at a recent election”
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Please, nobody vote for any of these stupid idiots already running this island… Get rid of the current fools and replace them with LOCALS who actually have intelligence and CARE about OTHERS and don’t just care about money. Not that it matters… I reckon all the local elections are rigged anyway.
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Trevor Pitman is probably one of the most articulate people in the States so a couple of the comments above are a joke. More importantly for me as a taxpayer Pitman and the like talk sense with the interests of the average Jersey person at heart.
Le Marquand and Ozouf unfortunately neither care about the average person but also think they are far more intelligent than they are. The fact so many of the wealthy tax dodgers and their lackeys slag Pitman off shows how right he is!
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Bingo # 14. Just because someone is articulate doesn’t mean he can’t be impetuous. I.L.M’s public speaking abilities are pretty weak to say the least – he just doesn’t have suffucient charisma to make a good leader.
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Wihe names like Le Marquand and Ozouf they are probably all distantly related (or closely) and thustis attribute makes them ideally suited for the job. I hope we see more “old Jersey folk” like this asserting their “Jersey ways”. Like the league of gentlemen Jersey is like Royston Vasey ….you’ll never leave …..ha ha ha
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#16 Scouser. What an ignorant post! So your effectively saying that it’s wrong for Jersey born people to be in the running to lead the island as chief minister. Sorry us locals seem to bother you so much. Maybe we should leave en masse and take root in Liverpool? I guess there is plenty of room there considering how many scousers chose to make Jersey their home. Incidentally, do scousers make up the majority of the local council etc in Liverpool? Just wondering! If Le Marquand and Ozouf are what people think represent the typical Jersey person, then I guess you represent what most people think of Liverpudlians, and that’s not a compliment.
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Jez (7) The treasury minister traditionally would be the natural choice for the CM’s job
Jez, there is a lot of good sense in your post but to say there is any tradition behind the treasury minister is a bit weak. The current skewed political system has only been running 9 years in which time budget over runs have gone through the roof. On that basis my ceramic ‘piggy bank’ would do a better job as treasury minister.
We are looking at the best of a bad crop, but we need somebody who is going to stop the rot.
However I agree with you that those who go along with the Mr Bean jibe, are the lowest common denominator and not worthy of respect.
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jj (4 &12) I respect your posts and agree, but it the best of a bad bunch which is on offer, in October. We had the report on States Reform by Lord Carswell, a lot of work by a Privy Councillor which appears to have gone right in the bid, just because it to not give the answer that was sought.
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It has to be said he has been a let down,and this arrogant omnipotent stance serves only to remove a person from the true reality of things….and in the same way as the wealthy slaver over rich food in Toffhole restaurants while saying a cursory “Tsk TSk isn’t it disgusting how some people eat out of the dustbins….removed ,detached…and want it that way as they couldn’t care less.
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Bingo #14 and #13,
Like many others on this board you seem to fail to understand that to trickle down wealth (whether in the form of income support or retail spending etc;) from top to bottom of Jersey’s economic tree (so the “average Jersey person”, whatever that is, benefits) or indeed to derive tax for government spending, you need to generate wealth in the first place!!!! Those who criticise the likes of Ozouf for pushing policies which encourage the wealthy to come to our small Island (ie 1.1k policy) or seek to sustain our finance industry (which is the envy of many small island economies) (ie 0/10 policy) seem to forget this and ignore the fact that no JDA or similar candidate has yet demonstrated any grasp of those economic realities: indeed, they’d prefer our finance industry was re-shaped by its arch-critic. Barking and dangerous.
Yes we must have a debate about greater discipline around State’s spending. Yes we must pursue policies which channel finance revenues towards greater diversification of the economy. And yes we must explore ways of ensuring that wealth trickles through from wealthy to (the deserving) poor in a sustainable way that doesn’t drive the wealth away in the first place. In my view Ozouf and co (although not perfect) do understand this very tricky balancing act and actually do a good job of keeping the Island going in incredibly challenging global economic conditions.
Unfortunately the personality politics in the States Chamber is toxic and this prevents a fair exchange of views and any level-headed aceptance of those economic realities. Egos are taking centre stage over mature debate in difficult times and the needs of the electorate are not being met by the many low calibre candidates only in the States because, frankly, it’s their best chance of earning £40k. The greatest threats the Island faces are internal, not external. Time for egos to be parked, for class warriors to smell the coffee and for a collective States team spirit to emerge for the good of the Island. Sort it out States Members!
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#7 Jez quote:
“Some States Members are unable to get further than just being a deputy for a good reason.”
Very true and there are a few good reasons for this. Their performance in the States in the eyes of the voters; their contempt for either industries or classes of people and their lack of expertise to go for a ministerial role. We have an awful lot of time wasters in the States and Ian Le Marquand has had to repeat answer to a lot of boring questions during his tenure already. He would make a good Chief Minister but I also agree that treasury experience is a major factor before anybody can confidentially take over the top job. I would also like to see personalities out of it, another reason deputies never progress any further and silly e-mails about Mr Bean shows a complete lack of professionalism. This is a serious job and should be taking on only serious people.
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Sage..This “trickle down” theory sounds alright in the saying ,but we’ve been hearing it for years and it really is HorseSh*t…is minimal at best and patronizing in the extreme…Fairness and honesty is what is required here,,,there is a violent allergy to good principles in Jersey due to the rich wanting to live high on then hog while the working people provide that privileged and rarefied atmosphere for them…well the game is up chaps,the world is rapidly becoming a different place the U.S.A is about to go into another dip.the Italians are about to default,the Spanish are in deep shtuk Greece is a shambles and Portugal is struggling, and we have had about enough of your crap..move over the people want and will have autonomy and their lives back.
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Zoro,
How nice it must be to wallow in the smug and cosy fug of your “burn the rich” absolutism without having the burden of any responsibility to employ, feed and nurture a populace. Fairness and honesty are the most noble of aspirations and you can perhaps achieve them in the best of all worlds back by strong economic conditions (I genuinely wish we could). But people like you would beggar the entire Island if left in charge. It doesn’t make me feel wholly comfortable applying pragmatism over principles, but I’d rather aspire to keep the majority afloat in Jersey rather than pander to a level of fairness which beggars all.
By the way, you are grossly under-estimating the trickle down effect.
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sarge with due respect people like you clearly no so little about economics. ‘Trickle down’ is generally next to worthless unless you have regulation in place to make these tax dodgers invest. Pitman pointed this obvious fact out in the debate on 1 1 Ks while Ozouf was left with just baseless myths.
I heard Pitman actually quote the world famous economist Ha=Joon Chang. As he told the States incredibly Ozouf didn’t even want to know of Chang because he apparently thought he ‘sounded wacky’! What hope is there with idiot Senators like this?
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Quite aside from the local income tax they would pay, exactly what regulation do you need to make a 1.1k buy a car, pay for a meal, pay for some building work, employ a cleaner, employ a gardener etc; etc; etc;? Of course the 1.1k economic contribution is a small one in the context of total revenues, but having it is better than not having it (particularly in the current climate). Quite apart from those obvious tangible economic benefits, 1.1k’s tend to be people who “make things happen” and have money to invest locally – exactly what Jersey needs if it is going to diversify its economy away from finance (as it must). Can you perhaps run through the economic arguments against this policy again, #25? I must have missed something…
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George … you misunderstand me, I wish to see MORE “Jersey folk” running the place, but to make things easier I would prefer, if we stuck to two or three (max)!! families running the place. I believe that “local is best” ..it streamlines things and makes decision making more assertive …keep it in the family????
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22 said “I also agree that treasury experience is a major factor before anybody can confidentially take over the top job.”
Was this a Freudian slip?
The word “confidentially” is relevant on two levels;
firstly, the unaccountable means by which a “chief minister” is put there (not elected). Not only do we, the public, get no say in the matter, but we are also not allowed to know which of our “representatives” voted for who.
Secondly, the “post” of “chief minister” (a democratically devoid one which is not recognised by very many voters) is indeed “confidential” in the sense that the incumbent tends to keep the voters and indeed the scrutiny panel in the dark. It is a secretive, sinister and altogether most unhealthy state of affairs. There is no effective check or balance on the position or upon the arrogation of power which flows from that position.
Sooner or later, something will happen to ameliorate the above-mentioned position. I hope that the necessary reform comes from Jersey but I am increasingly fearful that that will not happen and that political intervention from Whitehall or from Europe will become necessary.
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