Alderney States vote for cabinet style government

Saturday 19 October 2019

The States of Alderney have voted to move towards a whittled down, cabinet style government.

Currently all ten States Members have a place on the government's most wide ranging decision making group, the Policy and Finance Committee.

Decisions on items like legislation, policy and large spends of public money are then sent to the full States for ratification.

Critics of the current system argue that it lacks any effective scrutiny function and renders decision making long winded and cumbersome. Previous attempts at reform – despite broad public appetite for change – have been scuppered in the States chamber.

At the October meeting States members were asked to decide, in principle, whether they wished to move to a system where the executive function of government was better separated from the legislature. Proposing the item P&F Chairman James Dent, a long-standing advocate for reform, said continuously slow decision making and a 'vacuum in policy' was causing businesses who were initially keen to set up on Alderney back off and look elsewhere.

"I have been told many times we need stronger Government and more effective leadership and I could not agree more," he said.

"We find it difficult to deal with Guernsey, or the UK, because we have first to agree a committee position and, when asked by outsiders for a position, we cannot give it until the relevant committee, or committees, have met and deliberated. Far too often, they have only been able to come to inconclusive and, sometimes even contradictory, positions. We have also had situations recently where committee decisions, clearly arrived at in the most democratic of manners, are impossible to implement.  And too many decisions are deferred - and then deferred again.  We are ruled by the calendar of our monthly timetable for our committee meetings and not by the intelligence of our Government."

Pictured: James Dent is Alderney's Policy and Finance Chairman. He has been outspoken about air links and other issues during his term of office so far. 

Executive-style government had replaced the committee system in almost all other UK Crown Dependencies except Alderney, Sark, Tristan da Cuhna and Guernsey, Mr Dent argued.

Although Guernsey did have a system limiting the size of committees to 'manageable levels', it was a 'half way house' model that he did not recommend. "Each of the Guernsey committees, responsible as they are for policy in their own areas, seems soon to find themselves at loggerheads with all the other committees," he said.

Seconding the item David Earl said failure to separate powers created 'a crazy system where everyone is responsible for everything'.

"The net result is the dysfunctional government we have today.

"The people of Alderney want change," he said. "They are tired of the lack of leadership and direction. They are also tired by the lack of any kind of strategic planning, let alone the failure of States Members to work together as a team to deal effectively with key issues - such as, for instance, air links."

Annie Burgess, who joined the States in January, said her view from the outside had been that government did not seem to be working. "Then you come inside and you realise you were right, it isn't working. We've got to move on and change things."

Pictured: Louis Jean is one of Alderney's longest serving politicians. 

The two longest serving politicians in the room viewed the motion very differently.

Steve Roberts said: "This is a thrust for power by certain people.Too much time is taken on quests for power and not enough time and money are spent on sorting out out real issues. I'm not a fan of corporate government. Stop trying to change Alderney and get on with sorting out issues like connectivity."

Louis Jean said cabinet government was already alive in Alderney. He claimed many discussions and decisions already took place without all members being included.

He warned new colleagues that many of them were likely to be disenfranchised by the move rather than gaining any new powers that they were encouraged to believe they would gain.

"You are abrogating your responsibiltiy to people of Alderney to the few who will be included in the executive government," he said. "This is wrong. This means that a section of the States has no power at all, they are just running round on the little jobs they've been given and rubber stamping. I'm not against change, but I'm against this particular change."

States members voted 8-2 in favour of the item, with Mr Jean and Mr Roberts against.

Members also voted to instruct the civil service and the law officers, guided by the Good Governance Group, to draft 'appropriate changes' to the structure of government law and rules of procedure. The changes will be put out for public consultation and then be presented to the States for a final decision.