E-petitions on States’ website ‘a gimmick’

Earlier this month, the States of Jersey introduced e-petitions as part of a package of measures designed to make its website more user-friendly.

E-petitions that attract more than 1,000 signatures are automatically referred to the relevant minister for a response and those signed by more than 5,000 people are considered for debate by the States.

However, Sacc president Peter Roffey said his committee has considered the UK Parliament’s use of e-petitions, which uses the same technology, and was left unimpressed.

‘We will monitor it in Jersey, but not with a huge amount of enthusiasm,’ he said.

‘From experience in the UK, it has been total window-dressing rather than real grassroots democracy and little has changed as a result of the debates that have flowed from this system.

‘We have talked about it and it is not something we want to promote. However, we are not a closed-minded committee and, if it proves its worth in Jersey, it is something we could consider in the future.’

Deputy Roffey said there was already a mechanism in place to bring matters to the States via a requete, which requires signatures from seven States members.

He said that was a good way of testing whether there was the appetite to debate a proposition.

He also expressed concerns about what a ‘ministerial response’ actually means and what is actually required from politicians or States departments in order to comply with that.

‘We do want to know what people think, but I think we are fairly close to the public already,’ said Deputy Roffey. ‘It is not the same as in the UK where politicians are more remote from their constituents than we are here.’