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The latest bid to boot the Bailiff out of the States Assembly has been abandoned just days before it was due to be voted on – but a former Chief Minister has now suggested an approach that could bring the idea a step closer.
Supported by a "diverse" group of States Members including all of Reform Jersey, Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan put forward a plan to create 'Speaker' and 'Deputy Speaker' positions to replace the Bailiff as presiding officer in States Assembly meetings.
But, facing opposition from a variety of politicians – including his boss, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham – he confirmed yesterday that the plan had been withdrawn.
Now, External Relations Minister Ian Gorst has put forward a proposal that would bring Jersey another step closer to having a Speaker.
As Chief Minister back in 2017, the then-Senator Gorst made a strong call for constitutional change, arguing that unless the Bailiff is removed from the States, the island will not be able to rebut allegations of "the Jersey Way" in a move that set him against his then-External Relations Minister Philip Bailhache, a former Bailiff himself.
However, his latest plan doesn't go that far and would maintain the existing structure and the dual role of the Bailiff. However, it would introduce a more democratic selection process for situations when the Bailiff and the Deputy Bailiff cannot attend States meetings and an alternative president must be selected.
Pictured: The current Bailiff Sir Timothy Le Cocq will be retiring from the role towards the end of next year.
Currently, responsibility defaults to the Greffier, the official who manages the daily operations of the Assembly and provides procedural advice during meetings.
However, Deputy Gorst is arguing that an elected member should step in instead.
He pointed out that while Jersey law already gives the Bailiff authority to choose an elected member to preside, this power has never been used.
Deputy Gorst suggested that the Bailiff, currently Sir Timothy Le Cocq, may have avoided making such decisions in the past because he didn't want to seem biased towards a certain politician.
Pictured: The current Greffier of the States is Lisa Hart.
The latest bid comes after a proposition calling for the island's Bailiff to be replaced by an elected Speaker was withdrawn this week.
Constable Andy Jehan, who proposed the move, said in a statement that he withdrew his proposal "reluctantly" after recognising that the vote's outcome was "effectively already known".
The proposition, which was due to be debated next week, aimed to create 'Speaker' and 'Deputy Speaker' positions that could be implemented once the current Bailiff retires in October 2025.
Though the Bailiff would remain as the civic head of Jersey, the speaker – chosen either from the ranks of the States' elected Members or by appointing someone who would otherwise be eligible for election to the Assembly – would take on "all the functions of the presiding officer".
More than a third of States Members – including Deputies Rob Ward, Sam Mézec and Lyndsay Feltham – as well as Assistant Chief Ministers Simon Crowcroft and Carina Alves, plus former Chief Minister Kristina Moore, had backed Constable Jehan's proposition, which called for the change on the basis of democracy, accountability and efficiency.
But the proposition had been unpopular with some, including former Bailiff Deputy Sir Philip Bailhache, who said it would be "almost indecent" for States Members to remove the Bailiff from the historic role.
Constable Jehan said the decision should be made in a public referendum, as it would mean "fundamental constitutional change".
It was another blow in a series of attempts to try to end the controversial dual role of the Bailiff, who heads the Assembly and the courts, with similar propositions having been lodged in recent years.
Pictured: Constable Andy Jehan said that he was “reluctantly” withdrawing his bid for an elected Speaker in the States to be chosen after the current Bailiff retires.
Deputy Gorst's proposal, however, seeks to give the Bailiff the authority to choose an elected States Member to take on this role on a temporary basis.
The External Relations Minister explained that elected members willing to preside would be invited to put their names forward and the Privileges and Procedures Committee would manage the nomination process.
If more than one candidate is nominated, Deputy Gorst said that a vote among States Members would be held by 31 March.
Certain members, such as Ministers, Assistant Ministers, and chairs of panels or committees, would not be eligible for nomination to avoid conflicts of interest.
Deputy Gorst is a Minister himself and holds a role in Government so he would not be able to apply.
Pictured: External Relations Minister Deputy Ian Gorst.
The report accompanying his proposal read: "So far as I am aware, the Bailiff has not chosen (certainly in the current Assembly) an elected member to preside at States meetings on any occasion when both he and the Deputy Bailiff are unavailable.
"Whilst I am unsure of the reasons why an elected member has not been chosen, it would be understandable if the Bailiff felt that to do so would cause him to enter the political sphere, and thus it has been simpler to revert instead to the Greffier or Deputy Greffier.
"The proposition therefore gives the Bailiff renewed and specific authority from the current Assembly to choose an elected member to preside."
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