Removal of Jersey senator roles given final approval

Jersey politicians have given final approval to remove senator roles from the States Assembly.

The eight roles, currently elected island-wide, will be replaced by more deputies chosen from nine districts.

It means 37 members will be deputies and 12 will be constables, who are elected by the residents of each of the 12 island parishes.

The decision to enact a variety of reforms to the electoral system was agreed in principle in December.

The changes will come into force after the island's next general election, the date of which has been changed to 22 June 2022.

It came eight years after people in Jersey voted for reforming the political system in a non-binding referendum.

After countless failed attempts to introduce reform over more than two decades, this vote means there is no going back.

Those behind the reforms hope they will simplify the electoral system and increase voter turnout, while others believe the changes will have the opposite effect.

Many hope this move will help build back trust in local politics - trust which, in the minds of many, was lost when politicians failed to act on the results of the 2013 referendum.

While some feel these proposals go too far, others feel they do not go far enough, and it has been suggested further reforms could follow - a move which could see Constables join Senators on the States Assembly scrapheap.

Today's historic decision is based on compromise.

A genuine consensus on the issue of how Jersey's politicians should be elected still appears some way off.

Whether you think it will make elections fairer or destroy Jersey's unique political system, there is no denying this is a hugely significant decision.

Other changes to the system given final approval include the instruction of a boundary commission from 2022 and adding "none of the above" to ballot papers.

Attempts to save the role of senator, put forward by Senators Ian Gorst and Lyndon Farnham, were defeated by politicians on Thursday.

One agreed change to the proposed reforms was to retain the system where politicians remain in office after the election until successors are sworn in.

Ministers will also remain in government until a new Council of Ministers is chosen, despite suggestions for both terms to end on election day.

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