No Redundancy Pay for Jersey Woolworths Employees

What a way to end the year for the Woolworth's former staff.

Our legislature has failed to protect employees. How is there a loophole in the local employment law that lets administrators get away without paying any redundancy money?

Could anyone of our politicians tell us what the loophole is and equally how the law draftsmen managed to allow it by?

Our politicians need to answer the question quickly not only for the sake of Woolworths employees but also for all other employees who are faced with unemployment in 2009.

I am sure that although it will be the least of their worries the local staff who kept going in adversity have felt kicked in the teeth.

Hopefully the local politicians will not stand idly by and address both the issue of the Woolworth's former staff and also urgently amend the law so that this cannot happen again. It shows to the outside world that Jersey is not up to speed with modern legislation.

Not a very happy end to the old year nor a happy start to the forthcoming year.

20/20 Vision

As we turn from one year to the next and the time of tax returns comes about again - a time of decreased benefits for higher earners - we will also approach the first anniversary of GST - a tax introduced probably on the day the downturn in Jersey began to take effect.

All these new taxes were modelled, I believe, on an expanding economy to tax the increasing population expanded by the expanding local businesses.

Given that we are headed to a UK recession and possible deflation what contingency was planned for in respect of the tax system that the authorities have introduced? How will they deal with matters if, (probably when) the local economy shrinks.

Perhaps the local politicians will wish they had the benefit of hindsight.

Cold Comfort

Will the States of Jersey block the tariff increase of 25% by the Jersey Electricity Company?

As the Island's only supplier of Electricity, unfortunately we Islanders do not have the choice to switch supplier away from this monopoly. No uswitch.com for us to compare prices.

How can the JEC justify and persist with the tariff increase particularly in the light of the decrease in the price of oil. Perhaps one of their number would care to post a comment justifying the increase.

So, in these times of austerity, this government majority owned company, is inflicting inflationary increases in times of deflation, and yet again there is silence from local politicians.

It is cold comfort for the pensioners and the less well off when we are currently suffering from a very cold snap.

No Comfort

The UK Government does not seem to be doing much about the Landsbanki issue insofar as concerns the offshore depositors. Is such action tacit disapproval of the offshore industry. Such an attitude however is of no comfort to depositors.

However the fact that depositors have lost or at the very least are at great risk of losing some or all of their money does not reflect well either on the local government. If they are saying that they will not bail out UK residents who have money offshore then why not. The depositors would still no doubt be paying tax in some form in the UK

It is true however that ordinary depositors are being punished. These were not sophisticated investors who were entrusting their money to Madoff or trying to get exhorbitant returns. It is not unreasonable to expect that locals, i.e. Channel Islanders would put their money in these banks. It is however unreasonable to leave them floundering and to lose life savings.

What, if anything, is Guernsey doing to recompense the depositors who are innocent victims of the financial crisis?

I Couldn't Explain it Better

There was a comment posted by a Rob Kent on my (Flawed) by a Ponzi Scheme blog of earlier in the month and I reproduce it here for ease of reference as it crystallizes my thoughts exactly and is indeed very succinct.

Re "However, there were financial commentators warning about the unsustainably precarious funding situation of Icelandic banks as early as last March, and other banks shouldn’t be blamed for the failure of rate-greedy customers to understand, and heed, those warnings."

They were in the minority. The British government itself, along with a host of media financial 'pundits', were still promoting the Icelandic accounts at least until June this year, if not later. The reason that many of the local councils and authorities had their money in Iceland was because the accounts were recommended by government advisors.

Even The Telegraph was still advising its readers in May to use Icesave.

Savers want to get the best rate of return for their money. Many of them know little of how the financial markets work and rely on the advice they get from the daily newspapers and money web sites.

We now discover that HBOS and RBS came close to collapse over the summer. The latter is my bank - does that make me greedy?

No - the responsibility lies with the banks themselves, who built their businesses on a credit bubble, and the regulators who failed to stop them. It now seems that there were very few banks that were adequately capitalized and were not exposed to the same risk as the Icelandic ones.

The banks are good at promoting their safe images through the media. Most financial journalists accept press handouts at face-value and print them up virtually unchanged in the financial section. Many of them were also taken last year on an expenses-paid visit to Iceland and came back with glossy brochures that they then endorsed for their readers.

The banks, the regulators, and the lazy, reckless 'pundits' are all culpable.

Also, I don't think it is fair to blame 'rate-greedy customers'. The Icelandic banks took over other institutions, such as Cheshire Building Society. If you were an investor with your money locked in with Cheshire, you were stuck.

This couldn't explain better the thoughts I had on it. It is not greed to seek the best rate and most investors are amateur investors rather than sophisticated.

For the sake of clarity I would state that the problem lies firmly in the boardrooms of the Banks, they caused the problems, as well as with managers chasing bonuses. And quite frankly most of the financial advisers and commentators are as stated - no more than reckless pundits - who got paid for the privilege. The best thing for the financial intermediary industry is that it soon no longer exists and people have to go back to going direct to Banks and to Insurers as direct customers.

Latest Jersey Airport Experience

Using Flybe having printed online boarding passes we again used that great international airport which is Jersey Airport.

As we had checked in online we expected we could use the Flybe fast bag drop. I suggest that Flybe sack their Jersey handling agents. There was a queue with others and with those who had not checked in online. One check in assistant at that time for Flyb. Brilliant - 20 minute wait to "fast drop" the bags off.

The Airport catering concession is equally woeful. The cooked breakfast was lukewarm. There was a lack of cutlery. Only child sized knives.

Then air side ready to board the plane we handed our boarding cards and as there was no room in the high quality cattle sheds supplied by Jersey airport we sat in the hall outside. When flight was called officious despatcher wanted to see our boarding cards again because we were not allowed to sit outside. At least 10 of us had sat in that hallway.

I know these are minor issues but if there is a complaint everytime you go to the airport it would suggest that there is something not quite right.

Time for A Break

Merry Christmas to all.

Time to take a break for a short while.

No Misconception

On Clameur de Haro it states

Judging from several posts over the end of November / beginning of December, Clameur de Haro?’s fellow-blogger Jersey 24/7 seems to be somewhat confused both about modern banking and financial services themselves, and their contribution to what he or she clearly believes is the latent immorality of Jersey’s role as an international financial centre, namely helping – or presumably, in his view, influencing - overseas taxpayers to reduce their liability to taxation in their own jurisdictions.

There is no misconception on my part. My comments on the Banks are in relation to the world economy and the effect on the local economy. The fact is however that some of the packaging of debt has been undertaken offshore, in special purpose vehicles, so that the debt, or sale of debt, or thin air was not on the Bank's balance sheet. This is referred to on Tony's Musings today concerning Northern Rock. But how many more off balance sheet vehicles are there. The fact is that by their very existence shareholders in the main company cannot know the true liabilities of the parent. Therefore valid investment decision now cannot be made.

We also now know that the Banks remain insecure and the extent of their toxic assets remains unknown.

In terms of UK banks, there is an issue with Jersey. Simply put if the Banks are nationalised, and the next 6 months will tell us whether that will be the case, then their situation with the whole offshore industry does not sit well. What the UK government does or does not do remains to be seen.

I think that there will still be a finance industry but the financial world is changing rapidly. We do not know, for instance, whether the creators of perfectly legal schemes, to package debt, sell it on, securitization, etc, will be the scapegoats of government.

Local taxation, GST and 20 means 20 are another matter. I don't see why I should pay 20% when others including corporations do not.

So politically speaking I am not left wing nor liberal probably right of centre.

Jersey Home Loans - Maintaining High Rates

On the letters page of the JEP this evening is a letter from a correspondent concerning the fact that notwithstanding the fact that interest rates are low (2%) and probably heading lower that the majority of mortgage holders are paying around 6.5% on their Standard variable rates.

Now anyone taking out a mortgage with them may have used independent advice. Perhaps the mortgage holders should be talking to the advisers about the advice they received. This also goes for mortgage holders who were advise to lock themselves in to JHL mortgages at a fixed rate for 25 years. What a brilliant idea that was.

Undoubtedly the best way for many of these mortgage holders is to move their mortgages at the end of the current deal.

However this blog did warn that JHL was effectively Jersey's sub-prime crisis waiting to happen. But the authorities have been strangely quiet on this one. Why were they so keen to allow the lender in by way of competition. Why not allow them a banking licence to take deposits from Jersey residents. It doesn't mean the Jersey resident will take them up on their offer.

Jersey of course has no control over interest rates. It has no method to pump money into the local economy other than through fiscal measures. Rather Jersey is choosing to tighten the tax screw and thereby may slow its economy further.

No amount of quallies (Jersey Housing residency qualifications) reduction will alter the fact that banks are unwilling or unable to lend the amounts required on the loan to value required.

How do we know?

I am a little concerned that anyone who goes against the grain so to speak is treated as if they are heretic. This is true of global warming. Well it's not global warming any more is it. It's climate change.

Where is the proof for and against. Or is it the mantra daily trotted out by the proponents of climate change about the change in the climate that will affect us all - the constant barrage designed to wear everyone down - so it must be true.

Yes there are heavy rainstorms. Yes there are hot days. Yes there are rainy days. Yes there are cold days. It's called the weather - why does there always have to be something more sinister - are there any more floods than there ever were - are there any more heatwaves than there ever were. Provide me with some tangible proof. To those of us that aren't 20 or 21 and haven't been indoctrinated in schools we remember summers and winters of 30 years ago and some of us longer ago and to be honest - and to disappoint a lot of climate change enthusiasts, it was much the same as it is now.

We are told that this is the coldest start to winter since 1976. Strangely around that time coincided with the end of the last major cooling period of the world. Since then there has been warming up to about 1999. Since then things have been getting cooler.

As to the hole in the ozone layer this should have destroyed us by now but we don't hear much about it. Likelihood is that it ebbs and flows. After all we couldn't see what it was like in 1808;

Similarly today we have a story about a large hole in the magnetic field. The link is here.

We do not know really what things will look like in 2050 and 2100.

We are but a very small factor in a large universe. How do we know? The universe and earth are billions of years old. Nothing stays the same - it is the way of things.

Tesco or Asda - Not Primark

Just because a survey says that a growing number of Islanders want a Primark in Jersey this does not necessarily mean it is the case. The Facebook site may claim 1700 have signed an online petition. Where is the proof all the "signatories" are from Jersey. Why does Channelonline give the story such prominence? We already have BHS.

If a suitable retailer were to set up it would be far better to have an Asda or a Tesco Express to set up as quickly as possible. Such a shop would fit ideally on the soon to be free Woolworth site on King Street.

Whilst the competition may not be welcome for Sandpiper, Tesco and Asda are more of a modern Woolworth replacement and have sound business models and are both apparently solid businesses.

It is far more use to have stores like Tesco and Asda rather than Primark.

If you would rather have a Tesco or Asda, say so.

(Flawed) by a Ponzi Scheme

I am still wondering how so called sophisticated investors could not see that the excellent return offered by Madoff was illusory. A Ponzi scheme. But as we all know the debt financing of the banks was illusory, debt secured upon debt secured upon debt etc. So it is no surprise some of them fell for this. As for the fund managers it is all very well bleating that the SEC had an obligation to regulate but equally the fund managers had a duty to do due diligence which they apparently have failed to adequately do.

1 to 2 per cent per month income is simply not achievable in the current climate. The world would not be in the financial mess it is in now if it was.

A cursory search of Madoff reveals no apparent Jersey operation which is good for Jersey.

However one can imagine the kudos for certain of our local glitterati to have a $50bn dollar hedge fund based here. Lucky this one wasn't.

World Wide Blog

It seems that all over the world bloggers are occupied by controversies of a local nature .

One of the recent blogs of note - the Max Files - has a story about the building of an ugly emergency call centre and radio mast in the local neighbourhood.

Here, as with our incinerator, the authorities have taken no notice of what local residents think and just plough on regardless.

Similarly crime, albeit somewhat worse than in Jersey, is shown as being a problem in the local neighbourhood.

So bloggers the world over are writing about things which affect them using basic human rights and freedom of speech.

Let's hope that Max is more successful in the objections than we have been with our incinerator.

Pyramids

The fall of Madoff is salutory tale of our times. Why do supposed expert investors chase the extra interest or believe that someone is a genius because of the apparent fact they are "reading" the stock market and to return 1 per cent to 1.2 per cent per month.

Investors in Icelandic banks were caught out chasing high interest returns.

As they say if it seems to be too to be true then likelihood is that it is too good to be true. But then the banking system was about faith and trust and of course these investors obviously trusted the banks. I don't think anyone knew how banks were financing themselves. Essentially it seems banks were engaged in their own pyramid of debts.

In the case of Madoff, how many more of these giant pyramid schemes are there waiting to be found.

So not only have banks through their reckless pursuit of business led us to the brink of depression it seems that some hedge funds are in on the act of hastening the fall.

That's Democracy

Well if you own most of the businesses of an Island such as Sark and you don't like the result of an election just before Christmas what do you do.

That's right you sack the lot of your workers and close down your businesses and ruin their lives and Christmas because you can. Maybe there are other reasons but the timing seems to indicate otherwise. Then some of the policies of the election candidates did leave a lot to be desired.

Maybe a lot of middle Britain could stop buying the Telegraph or staying at the Ritz, but I doubt it.

Uncertainty

I read that Virgin have a tentative interest in the future of BMI.

It is apparently not interested in the short haul network of BMI Regional or BMIBaby. It is however interested in the BMI Heathrow slots.

Which begs the question. If Virgin and Lufthansa (new owners of BMI) agree a deal what happens to the BMI Heathrow slots that supply the short haul routes particularly the Heathrow - Jersey route?

Cobblers to Customer Service

I won't name the business in King Street but you can guess the shop if you are Jersey based.

Anyway went to get a couple of copies of key cut the other day. Got it home and it would lock the deadlock in question but would not unlock it. So if you were outside you would be stuck outside and if you were on the inside you would be stuck on the inside. So I went back with my keys and asked that they fix them. Got them home opened the outside and locked the outside. Inside however only locked the door and wouldn't unlock. I suspected it only needed a slight amount of work.

So again I went back the next day. It was not the same employee who served me. I was expecting a little more tweaking. "Oh well, it must be our (indistinct) no problem I'll give you your money back" - I didn't want my money back so I said so "No, ILS maybe able to do it for you"; He might as well have said "We can't be bothered".

So I went to ILS (Island Lock & Safe). Each copy worked first time.

Never to return to such Cobblers service either for shoe repair or keys I fear. I congratulate them on their lack of customer care. But I would say to anyone never to go there again as they clearly don't need the business - use any other key cutting service and use anyone else for shoe repairs.

Simple Internet

The purpose of the internet as I see it is to disseminate information and news.

This should reasonably be in an accessible format to all users. To that end it is useful to have sites such as the Telegraph, Times, New York Times, CNN all online and easily readable.

The same cannot be said for Jersey sites. This Is Jersey is sparse on information and news so as only to encourage a purchase of the Jersey Evening Post. It has scant regard for overseas readers.

Getting far worse is Channelonline TV. They seem to think that all their readers want to view their poor quality reports. Well it is far better to read about it - a bit like the BBC news site. So far better to remove Channelonline from my bookmarks. It is far too difficult to navigate and I don't want stories automatically loading. If I want to watch news items I'll switch on TV - on the Web I much prefer to read.

Christmas Lights

I have to say that this year walking through town at the end of the working day is a pleasure on the cold clear nights.

The Christmas lights down the main streets and also in the Royal Square look wonderful as does the tree and nativity scene.

Hardly Comedy

What sort of a world is it when Alan Carr gets a comedy award and then makes some supposedly comic remark about Karen Matthews which he subsequently apologised for. These people are seriously not funny.

Equally why does Russell Brand get an award and why does Angus Deayton, himself no stranger to the tabloids a few years ago, refer to people who complained to the BBC about the Andrew Sachs affair as "30,000 self-righteous t***s who never heard the programme in the first place".

Not much comic talent in evidence.

States of Jersey - Act Urgently Now for the Future

Jersey is not in charge of its economic policy. Yes it has a fiscal policy and a savings policy. Badly managed on the Social security fund judging by the loss of a quarter of its value. However Jersey cannot readily pump funds into its economy or support ailing businesses. The recently re-elected States member, Senator Routier virtually said the home owners could sink or swim and would not receive State support. So thanks for supporting the less well off with your tax, your stamp duty payments, not being on the social housing ladder - but get lost if you need help now. A shame he didn't say this before the election.

But as I have already stated - and probably because it is fairly urgent - in that the local economy is in danger of a very sharp spiral over the next six months - as Jersey cannot pump funds into the economy there is another way of doing it -

That is:

1. Housing qualifications should be abolished - so that anyone who can afford to buy can buy.
2. States loan reinstated.
3. States sell off to existing tenants with Mortgage from the States;
4. Encouragement given to local growers to supply local market first; we cannot survive on imports.

That way the locals do not lose out because they have the right to buy the existing States Housing stock - the local Housing market will get moving again - this is the bedrock of any economy not just Jersey. People not spending ruins an economy and in a deflationary environment pretty quickly. There will not be mass immigration .
The Jersey Evening Post proudly announced that the recession had arrived in Jersey. They had not noticed that it had been creeping up on Jersey. The States have no idea what is going to happen to the finance industry, whether retrenchment will result in massive job losses.

In the rest of the economy we have to hope that the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England now follow the quantitative easing policy and pump money into the economy now that the ammuniation of interest rates is almost used up. Essentially printing money; this will bring inflation in the medium term but we can deal with that then - far easier to deal with than deflation and depression.

Oh Dear

Doesn't a headline article like "Island Child Care Could be World Leader" beggar belief.

Perhaps the Haut de la Garenne investigation and the existing issues of investigations should be resolved before Jersey seeks to be a world leader in this subject but the thing is it seems to be a CTV headline - I am not sure I heard the interviewee mention any where about "world leader".

Reduce Quallies to Zero & Bring Back the States Loan - Simple Solutions

Jersey's current housing minister is proposing to reduce the housing qualification period to 10 years to kickstart the economy.

He has noted that lenders are no longer lending 100%. Does he think that this will kickstart the buying and selling of houses.

The reasons banks aren't lending like they used to is that the funds are not there to lend.

Nevertheless, Jersey does need to do something as its economy slows down significantly.

What would be even better from the new States of Jersey would be either the removal of the qualification period so that all residents are equal or the introduction of a gradual policy whereby the qualification period is now reduced to zero. This is Jersey's economic option given that it does not control interest rates and cannot go for the next option of "quantitive easing" or pumping money into the economy.

The other thing that the States could do for first time buyers is to release funds from the reserve fund and reinstate the States Loan. What the States could also do is sell existing housing stock to tenants and to incorporate in that sale a States Loan. The purchasers would not need a deposit but would have a mortgage in favour of the States. There would be no need for independent mortgages and the maintenance would then be borne by the Purchaser. Simple.

A Little Harrassment

Channel Online continue to have the story of Jeremy Macon and his mother on the website three days after the story broke.

In the Jersey Evening Propoganda tonight there is further article admonishing the Deputy Elect and informing everyone that they can't get a response from him about his ballot at the Parish Hall.

As the Deputy-Elect has correctly stated he is using a personal campaign address. Moreover he is not a Deputy with a government address until Monday.

Even then it is incumbent upon a Deputy to interact with his electorate and hopefully he will do so. It is not simply that he should discuss matters only with States members.

I am sure the JDA are busily following their own agenda whether or not the majority of their constituents agree with them.

Life Insurance Underwriters

I was just wondering who these people really think they are. Along with life insurance sales men of course who are only after one thing - commission. They may wear suits and have an air of respectability but other than that they are the lowest of the low.

How many people have to put up with intrusive questions on their lives and habits when the life insurance company then takes a huge premium and intrudes into personal lives and looks at issues that occurred more than 30 years ago in any one person's life. Everyone lives their life differently. Why are these issues pertinent now.

They are not looking after the interests of policy holders. Half the time they will find any excuse not to pay out. There is an almost Hitlerian attitude from Life Insurers. Remember these are the people who also wanted to use genetic testing to discover pre-disposition to illness.

Perhaps people should begin to boycott Life insurers. Are they really worth the hassle. After all mortgages years ago used to be paid off or on a death the property would have to be sold.

Maybe we need to go back to those days.

Today's Keywords

Just seemed a little interesting the keywords today -

12/03/08 20:57:48 "jeremy macon""mum" (Google)
12/03/08 20:39:48 NELLIE MACON (Google)
12/03/08 19:36:29 daniel wimberley elections jersey (Google)
12/03/08 19:13:28 twenty 4 seven substance (Google)
12/03/08 19:04:13 jeremy macon ctv mother (Google)
12/03/08 18:14:17 how do jersey islanders elect deputies (Google)
12/03/08 17:47:38 political issues being debated in Jersey/CI (Google)
12/03/08 16:59:36 jeremy macon (Google)
12/03/08 16:33:45 signature in jersey (Google)
12/03/08 15:41:08 business closures (Google)

Quality Local Media

Channel TV (our local independent ITV station - must check to see what their remit is for allowing biased reporting) and the august journal the JEP have been ripping in to Jeremy Macon.

The latest splurge from Channel TV is that they have picked up on his comment that he was holding an informal meeting at the Parish hall to gauge who constituents may want for Chief Minister. So what if they say Terry Le Sueur. He has nominated Alan Breckon and that is that. Even if they did, I would say he should be holding his meeting in the district in which he was elected. He represents St. Saviour No 1.

As long as he begins to tackle the Parish on the issue of parking, i.e. people who do not pay their rates in St. Saviour parking free outside peoples houses and walking to work or school traffic where the Parish has persistently failed to introduce pavements and continues to allow parking in direct contravention of any health and safety issues I am sure the Parish voters in his constituency will be happy. If not he will not be re-elected which is why Celia Scott Warren came bottom of the poll.

And contrary to Geoff Southern's assertion that States members should only talk with other members (so soon after an election) it is the constituents (of which Jeremy Macon's mother is one) to whom the elected must listen.

It is not for Channel TV or the JEP to pressure any politician let alone to be bullying and for CTV to keep the headline on their site for over 24 hours. Where is the backup from CTV that " Who's in power in the Jersey parish of St Saviour? Is it Deputy Jeremy Macon or his mum? That's the question many States members are asking." It seems to me that the only person who has raised the question is Deputy Southern. It is strange how they are happy to make such an issue out of a triviality but barely report on Haut de la Garenne or the real major issues affecting Jersey. How come this e-mail was leaked and into the public domain within a day. Quality stuff. Stop the bullying.

An Unnecessary Risk

It's all for the money money isn't it?

It doesn't seem to matter to the English and Wales Cricket Board that people died in the awful massacre of Mumbai. That a rabbi and his wife along with others were reportedly tortured and then killed and their child left an orphan. People singled out because of their nationality and herded to the rooftop of a hotel and slain. Indescriminate killing in railway stations and cafes.

No, the ECB have a security guarantee from the Indian authorities that the equivalent of the SAS will guard the England Cricket team. The question of money has overridden the thoughts of the players and their families. Those who tour must be facing the trip with some trepidation. Terrorism engenders fear - that is only natural - and peoples fear should also be respected. It is all very well saying you mustn't let terrorists win - by not going you are not doing that - you are at the very least taking stock.

Had the ECB had morals and a sense of decency and respect they would have cancelled the tour. Now is not the time to be chasing money. Such an attitude devalues sport and disrespects the grieving.

At this time the proposed tour appears disrespectful and an unnecessary risk to the sportsmen involved. They should wait until the picture is clearer.

Old Style Banking

Yet again we hear and read stories of banks that are pulling mortgage products or failing to pass on rate reductions to customers.

Basically this is in order that they can rip the customer off and attempt to repair their balance sheets.

As I have said before it is the Banks that have all but ruined the world economy. The public and their customers knew little of what they were doing behind the scenes whilst they reported record profits, these top 500 organisations, which were no more than illusory profits.

They lent savings customers money to borrowers. They borrowed money against those mortgages to lend more. They sold that debt on and the next party borrowed money against that promise to pay. And so on and on and on.

Why do the current bankers think the public are so gullible. The trouble with Banks as they were before effective Nationalisation is that although they were lending to everyone and we all thought it was great they were allowed to create off-balance sheet debt which never showed in their results so no-one ever knew the tre picture. The strange thing is that the FSA and offshore regulators allowed this to happen.

Should there not be a turning point now against the Banks. Is it not time that perhaps local savings banks started up again taking customers deposits and lending to local buyers on a prudent basis. This could happen throughout the UK and locally. The old style Trustee Savings Bank or in the same manner locally as the old Jersey Savings & Loans Corporation. They could be mutual societies owned by the depositors - or the building society model. A place where there is one Bank manager and the staff are Bank Clerks (not managers) and that salaries are moderate.

Southern Ways

I don't think that Deputy Southern has got the pitch right here. If Jermey Macon's mother has responded to an e-mail - so what. It will be up to Jeremy Macon to vote in the States. IS DEputy Southern seriously trying to say that States members discuss nothing with their families and do not take those views on board. It is really a non issue.

What Deputy Macon needs to deliver on and be given the chance to deliver on are local Parish policies in St. Saviour which are principally traffic, speed of traffic and school traffic. As he gets into the States way of doing things then he will learn more.

This seems to be a non issue blown out of proportion by a politician who would perhaps be keen for the new member for St. Saviour's to vote his way.

Let's just wait and see the voting record before we start to make judgements.

We were quite happy to vote for Jeremy Macon because he came to our door and he (and his mother) did the chatting, but we liked what we heard even though we don't agree with all his political views. At least we may get something done in our district for the first time in 9 years; the previous incumbent just got on with being an Assistant Minister and was never around to respond to e-mails.

Turn Back Time

Let's wind the clock back a bit so that all the decisions made since the Senatorial elections are rescinded.

Why is it that Jersey States is to debate the 2009 budget on the 2nd December when the assembly no longer has the electoratal mandate to do so. I object to those that have been thrown out by the electorate being able to still dictate one final piece of policy.

It appears undemocratic. Hopefully one of the newly elected members will put forward a proposition to have the budget debated by the new house. However I won't hold my breath.

The States should have been dissolved for the elections. Hopefully one of the new members will also debate the incinerator. If the States have to pay a penalty so be it. The contract was signed by someone proud of his achievements and who had no mandate to wreak the havoc he wreaked over the past five years.

Maybe TTS can remove the traffic lights at the end of the tunnel and look a bit more at filter in turn and roundabouts and maybe they can remove the dangerous barriers which make it impossible for us drivers to get out of the way of emergency services but which of course, at the end of the avenue, cater for the 3 pedestrians who use the central reservation of the avenue to get to the other side.

Message to the new States. Turn back time.