Age 67. Educated at Victoria College, F.E. and Farnborough Technical College. Lived practically all my life in St. Clement apart from a spell in the UK working at Fighting Vehicle Research & Development. Ran my own engineering business 1975 – 2013.
Deputy for St.Clement 1998 – 2008 & 2011 – 2014. Four years in the Executive and nine in Scrutiny. Member of Le Squez Youth Club management committee 1998 to present.
Hobbies: fishing, boating, motor racing, target shooting.
The problems facing Jersey never seem to get resolved, eg reliance on the finance industry (which is coming under increasing pressure) and no proper control over immigration (meaning continually rezoning green fields to house people). The idea immigration will offset an ageing population is economically bankrupt – that’s a Ponzi scheme, where the problem simply multiplies until it catastrophically collapses.
The public complain they’re not listened to, and they’re right.
The Island used to be governed by the States Assembly (where all decisions were made by elected representatives) but now Jersey is governed by a handful of politicians (eleven ministers) with the rest kept at arm’s length. Most decisions are now made by civil servants, and democracy has been trampled.
We must return power to the people. I have been trying to achieve that for some time, but to do so requires fundamental changes to our machinery of government. Unfortunately certain ministers’ lust for power, the sycophants who support them and a few others who perceive change as a threat to their self-importance makes progress nigh impossible. Also, as years pass fewer and fewer members are left who experienced Committee government, enabling the above group to convince new members that committees are some sort of hindrance. In which case, why do we have a Public Accounts Committee, a Planning Applications Panel, the Privileges and Procedures Committee (plus any number of boards)? How can replacing seven elected decision-makers with one minister improve democracy?
It’s not ministers or back-benchers who hold the balance of power, but those in the middle. If we are to make any progress and return to a government that respects the wishes of the people, the public must be more aware of that group when they vote.
If elected, I promise to represent St Clement and its parishioners as robustly as I have in the past, with especial vigilance regarding any proposed rezoning of more of our fields.
(The 2002 Island Plan proposed rezoning a number of St Clement fields for housing. It was I who brought a (sadly unsuccessful) Amendment to remove those sites from the Built up Zone. This year (2014) I supported our Connetable in his attempt to again remove rezoned sites earmarked for St Clement).
I will also use my political experience to keep pressing for reform of our machinery of government. Only then will we get spending and immigration under control and once again govern the Island as the public would wish.