As has been reported in the media, I have decided not to stand in the Senatorial elections but I will be contesting a seat in the Deputy election in number 3 district in St. Helier, where I now live. I have explained fully my reasons for this below.

I have pulled out of the Senatorial election because I believe it will descend into a “personality circus” and the real issues facing the people of Jersey "will be by-passed and get submerged in a welter of personal vendettas.”

I am also conflicted by the fact that I have consistently campaigned for the Clothier proposals to be instituted and his proposals should be put to a referendum so that the public can have their say. In support of this, I have always argued that the island- wide mandate actually counts for nothing. A Senator elected with 14,000 votes has no more influence or power than a Deputy with 270 votes or a Constable with no votes.

This is shown clearly by the fact that of the ten ministers, who make up the Council of Ministers, four are deputies and 2 are constables. They are responsible for housing, health, social security, planning and environment, transport and technical services and education. Senators are responsible for the chief minister, treasury, home affairs and economic development. That means that there are 8 Senators with no ministerial responsibilities. So why be a Senator?

I agree with the public’s analysis carried out by the JEP that the October elections should be about the performance of States members over the last three years and whether or not they had failed to tackle immigration, fairer taxation levels, public service salaries, the use of consultants, government secrecy, human rights legislation covering discrimination in all its forms, accountability, freedom of information, transparency, control of public expenditure, unemployment and diversification of the economy

I believe I can serve my constituents in number 3/4 and around the island more effectively from the deputy benches.

I have been asked what my election manifesto is and I can only answer that it is what I have been talking about, making speeches about, getting petitions signed on. That is what I pledge to do.

Unlike Ozouf, I keep my election promises. I am simply asking people if they are happy with the things that have happened in the last six years, they should vote the “old guard “back in. But if the public want change they need to choose people who are pushing for change—not the Ozouf “plants” about which I will be writing later.

So I ask the following question

ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THESE RESULTS?

• Failing to hedge the euro value of a massive contract for the Incinerator (the biggest in the island’s history) which has cost the island over 4 million pounds.Failing to take action over the massive increase in population, when all the warnings were given by concerned people and organisations that this was taking place.
• Wasting the opportunity to provide the island with a magnificent waterfront development and, instead, given us a conglomeration of monstrous ugliness.
• Allowing the top public servants to increase their salaries to astronomical proportions, engage consultants at enormous cost - instead of doing the job themselves - and to continue with their gold plated pension schemes.
• Failing to diversify the economy thereby allowing the island to become hostage to the finance industry, which is built on the shifting and dodgy sands of tax avoidance?
• Ignoring advice that the zero-ten tax regime would fall foul of the European Code of Conduct and would have to be scrapped.
• Causing the tax burden to shift savagely from the corporate sector on to the shoulders of the public (as a result of introducing zero ten, corporate tax has dropped from 52% to 12% in ten years and personal tax - that’s you and me - has risen from 42% to 84%.)
• Allowing a consultant for the Hospital to be engaged at a ludicrous cost.
• Despoiling our coastline with developments like Portelet and protecting Jersey’s ugliest building, the Odeon, and blocking a £40 million development that would have rejuvenated an ugly part of St. Helier.
• Threatening to remove grants from private schools and dismantle what is an excellent education system.
• Allowing our road system to deteriorate to such a degree that will cost £100million to put right.
•  Letting our housing stock deteriorate so much that £84million has to be spent.
• Failing to tackle the Housing problem and provide decent homes for young people at a reasonable cost.
• Allowing the tax burden to shift from business to the people- in 2000 business contributed 52% of our tax revenue and now it's leapt from 42 to 84%.
• Building an incinerator of total ugliness on a beautiful Ramsar foreshore and ignored all expert advice about the site being inappropriate.
• Leaving the island without a reciprocal health agreement with the UK for nearly two years.
• Closing the Fort Regent swimming pool and totally neglecting the development of Fort Regent as a sporting and health centre (as well as paying a subsidy to a Waterfront pool that costs over £500,000 a year)