The system is not the priority
THE revelation that changes to the system of government are not going to be in place until the general election in 2029 will have surprised few, but probably disappoint more.
Not that anybody can agree on all the changes that might be required, but as Lord Digby Jones has said recently – and said often – something’s not working.
So will changes to the system of government be an election issue in June 2025? As much as some would wish it, we’d expect that it probably won’t be.
Tensions will remain about some shade of executive government set against the current committee and consensus system. But it’s much easier to agree that something might be broken than it is to know how to fix it.
Jersey has just published the snappily-titled ‘Proposed Common Strategic Policy 2024-26’ which has largely similar aims that Guernsey might wish for. Do they have any stronger hopes of delivering any of it?
The over-ambitious and complex Government Work Plan seemingly needs another refresh, while much of government continues to wade through the same old treacle, pondering the same old issues.
You might argue that you can’t get any results under the current system, but the public might actually want to see the States looking to address the issues that matter to them, rather than what they might see as navel gazing.