Sitting members trail new candidates in manifesto race

22 September 2005

The first hustings takes place tonight at St John's Parish Hall, starting at 7.30pm, and all the candidates will have their first opportunity to set out their vision and manifesto in their introductory speeches.

As we published this story, almost all of the new candidates and both of the parties had published their manifestos. They vary enormously in style and detail. We have seen philosophy as well as policy. Some are arguably not very helpful in persuading voters how to vote. Some smack of negativity and protest, others of constructive and positive policy proposals.

What's particularly striking is the absence of manifestos from the five independent candidates who already hold office. Perhaps they are all ready for the first hustings with concise summaries of their policies based on years spent honing the policy positions in the States. We shall see, and let's hope for the best.

At the very least, let's hope that Senator Syvret, the only candidate who has so far expressly declared his intention to run for Chief Minister if re-elected as Senator, will tell the electorate what he stands for. We know he takes pride in his chosen role as the perpetual enemy of "the establishment," and it's clear that his natural political leaning is firmly to the left. But voters will probably want to know more about his vision for the future of Jersey before giving him the top-of-the-poll mandate he's seeking to sweep him into the highest office in the States assembly.

If you're going to tonight's hustings, or any of the others, are you going to be satisfied with platitudes? Or do you want to know more about how the candidates propose to fix the bad things and make the good things even better?

Do you want protest or progress?

Do you want a States Assembly polarised by political dogma, or working constructively towards the best possible future for Jersey?

Let's demand visions, policies and true leadership from those who seek our votes for six years of high office.

Find the dates of all the hustings here.