No support from the States

Friday 23 May 2014

Not one business leader at Wednesday’s crowded Chamber of Commerce lunch thought that the States had done enough to promote a commerce-friendly environment in Jersey.

More than 100 members crammed into the Radisson Blu Hotel for the Chamber’s AGM, and when asked to raise their hands in the air to show if they thought the States were working hard enough to support employers not one of them did so.

And Chamber president James Filleul used the platform to challenge politicians to up their game, and to not just give up on getting their jobs done just because the elections are rapidly approaching. He says that Chamber will be running a Question Time-style event in July on the economy to make sure that minds are focused on the real issues.

Mr Filleul said: “I’ve lost count of the number of times since January I’ve heard the phrase  - ‘it’s a good idea but it won’t happen in an election year’  or ‘that’s only being done because the elections are coming up’.

“It’s almost attained the status of urban myth than one in every three years is practically lost, simply because we vote for new politicians that year.

“It simply isn’t good enough for us all to shake our heads at the decisions of the States, and then get on with the day-to-day work. If we think that a particular proposal will damage the engine of the island, which is how I think of our economy, then we should say so, to any politician who will listen – if we can find one.”