Deputies signing up to motion to force out P&R
The Policy & Resources Committee can expect to receive a motion of no confidence by the end of next week.
The deputy who will lead the motion, Charles Parkinson, is on the brink of securing the seven signatures needed to launch the process.
He said yesterday that he was ‘expecting’ to complete the first stage – writing to P&R formally asking it to resign – by the end of this week.
The committee will then have five working days to tender its resignation to the Bailiff, Sir Richard McMahon.
Deputy Parkinson said he would be ‘astonished’ if it resigned voluntarily. But if it does not, it will face a motion of no confidence debate in the Assembly, possibly as early as the following week.
‘I have called for P&R to consider its position. Obviously I have to give them a day or two or three before sending them the formal letter,’ said Deputy Parkinson.
‘I am moderately confident of getting to seven signatures. I think we’ll get there, although I’m disappointed in how lily-livered some members are being.
‘The situation is that a lot of members are saying they will support a motion of no confidence when it gets to the Assembly. But not all of them are prepared to sign the motion, including some quite senior members who you might have expected to show some leadership but who, as they put it, want to avoid blood on their hands.’
Deputy Parkinson has approached only about a dozen deputies about signing the motion of no confidence. Some others not yet approached have indicated they would probably sign the motion if asked.
Initial inquiries indicate that at this stage the Assembly is broadly in balance on the question of whether P&R should be removed with an undecided group of about half a dozen likely to sway the outcome.
Once Sir Richard receives a motion of no confidence, the States rules of procedure require him to submit it to the Assembly ‘as soon as reasonably practicable’.
The Assembly is due to meet next two weeks today, but that meeting is meant to be reserved for debate on the draft 2024 Budget proposed by P&R. The next scheduled meeting after that is due to start on 22 November.
‘The Budget is not my problem. The timing of a motion of no confidence is up to the Bailiff. I don’t really care about the timing,’ said Deputy Parkinson.
