Requetes should be left alone

One bright idea, seven signatures, and one politician has the chance to completely derail any such considerations as planning ahead, even move ahead of the vaunted Government Work Plan.

It also very much has its place in holding government ‘to account’, and its most recent iteration, Deputy David De Lisle’s bid to cancel Education, Sport & Culture’s decision to ‘temporarily’ close Herm School, is one such bid.

The committee will fight the requete tooth and nail, and one would expect nothing less. But the bid to attempt to amend the requete sticks in the craw.

Deputy De Lisle’s bid has a specific purpose. It appears that amending the requete aims to water down that purpose to the point where the proposer no longer wishes to pursue his own petition, particularly when ESC does not even support two of its three proposals.

The same thing happened when Deputy Steve Falla pursued a requete to save the Bordage Seath field at the hospital from development. It can be argued that requete was heading for defeat – but better a straight fight and result than one which leads a requete proposer wanting to vote against his own proposition.

Amendments have their place. So do requetes. But in such instances, it seems best to keep it the battle clean and straightforward.