Aspiring politicians of the future told they can’t use States Chamber

Tuesday 19 January 2016

The Jersey Youth Parliament has been told they can’t use the Island’s States Chamber for their planned four meetings per year.

Politicians and the Bailiff have ruled out allowing the group to use the States Assembly, saying that it could potentially “diminish the standing of the Chamber” and that the room is sometimes needed for court proceedings.

The decision was made in October by the Privileges and Procedures Committee that’s in charge of States standards and reform – one member, Deputy Judy Martin, dissented from the decision saying that the States should be doing everything they can to encourage younger people to take an interest in local politics.

“I thought we should let them have a go, we preach about getting more youth involved, but it just fell at the first hurdle,” she said.

“I think the Jersey Youth Parliament is great. They came and made a presentation to us – their enthusiasm and their organisation was brilliant, and I thought ‘why not?’

“I couldn’t see a problem with it, we have got to practice what we preach.”

The PPC committee first considered the proposal in September, and according to the minutes of the meeting they held off a meeting until the following month when they were due to meet with the Bailiff, William Bailhache.

When he attended, he told them that the States Chamber was often needed as an overflow court when the Royal Court was busy, which meant it could not be used by the Jersey Youth Parliament on weekdays.

The minutes record: “Moreover, he was of the opinion that the use of the States Chamber in this way by external parties could, potentially, diminish the standing of the Chamber.”

The Town Hall or other parish halls were suggested as alternative venues.