A scandal in Jersey has come to my attention. For once this is not about tax. It has instead arisen out of Jersey's May 2018 General Election.
Jersey law required that candidates in the May 2018 General Election must comply with the Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Law 2014 .As a result they were required to make a return of their election expenses on a prescribed form within 15 working days of the polling day (16th May). In practice, this meant that the form had to be submitted by 7th June 2018. Failure to do so was a criminal offence liable to a fine and, if convicted, automatic disqualification as a States Member, triggering a by-election in which the errant Member was entitled to stand again.
The scandal became apparent broke on 4th January 2019 when two Jersey Deputies (Scott Wickenden and Hugh Raymond) and one unsuccessful candidate, Bernie Manning, appeared in the Magistrates Court charged by HM Attorney General for Jersey under Article 6(6) of the Law for not returning the required form. Wickenden said he filed his on 28th July 2018 because he said he had shingles. Raymond did not so until December 2018 whilst Manning saaid he “put it in the post”.
However, they were not alone. A review by Nick le Cornu has examined the returns of all 91 candidates in the elction
ELECTED NOT ELECTED
Compliant Non compliant Compliant Non compliant
Senators 2 6 7 2
Deputies 16 13 11 22
Constables 1 11 1 1
19 30 17 25
The simple fact is that as a result of this finding it is apparent that most current members of the States of Jersey should have been automatically disqualified from membership as a result of their failure to comply with election law.
The story was broken in a video blog on Friday 11th January 2018. The Jersey media did nothing to report the revelations, but with over 600 hits on the video, it has been watched by many.
Not until HM Attorney General for Jersey Robert MacRae issued a Statement in the evening of Wednesday 16th January did the media report the matter and only then took verbatim without question his version of the facts.
What happened then was that the Jersey Attorney General (AG) decided to stop the prosecution of the three candidates. They appeared in the Magistrates Court on the morning of Friday 18th January but the AG stated that he would not prosecute other errant States Members or candidates on grounds of public policy and because he did not wish them to have criminal records. These three were not awarded their costs.
I cannot ignore this. What it shows is that the rule of law does not apply in Jersey. The law has been randomly disapplied to politcians even though the majority of them should now be excluded from office. In effect, last year's Jersey general election result was basically null and void. But rather than face that inconvenience the powers that be have swept the matter under the carpet.
What else would one expect from a tax haven but such ‘flexibility' for an elite who serve the interest of finance? And what else can one conclude but that the “Jersey Way” is in action?
And that the BBC is failing in its logical duty (as ever) by not properly covering the obvious consequences of this story, as it has not, or so I am told by those who listen regularly. After all, the reality is that of the 12 members of the Council of Ministers only two were compliant with the Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Law 2014 and the rest should be disqualified from office.
The reality is that the Jersey political class have been given a “get out of jail card”. Lame excuses have been made. But they do not change the facts
And apparently that's OK in the tax haven of Jersey.
So much for its claim to have a democracy and functioning law. It seems it has neither.
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Jersey!
I cannot wear it!
Huh!
No smiley for me then?
I thought that was quite funny.
🙁
This is fascinating, Richard – a good law, fairly simple to comply with, you’d think, too, blatantly ignored. Because laws do not apply to the great and the good? No prosecutions, because? No media coverage, because? Too inconvenient maybe. But it does show some deep collusion between media and inconvenient, for some, news – journalists are fast losing any credibility because of their choices of what to report or not.
What I find really bizarre, is that the law-makers themselves bother to make laws in the first place, ones that applies to themselves, that they have no intentions of complying with. You’d wish that one part of your establishment could be trusted, eh?
Thanks for picking up on this.
There is more yet to be discovered about this sordid episode.
Meanwhile the appointment of the next Deputy Bailiff for Jersey is now being considered. Traditionally the Attorney-General would slide into the chair and he is very keen by all reports but the process has to appear to be non-discriminatory and compliant with diversity standards so there is an Appointments Board participation and applications invited.
The retirement of the existing Bailiff has already been announced and his successor – inevitably the existing Deputy Bailiff – has received the Royal approval.
Thank you for covering this story as you have correctly noted the Jersey MSM is pretty much keeping it buried. Nick Le Cornu and Mike Dun (Citizens Media) first reported this story SIX DAYS before the local MSM mentioned it. As you also correctly state the MSM only reported on it when parroting a statement issued by the (conflicted) Attorney General.
The video/interview mentioned in your post, which broke the story can be viewed HERE.
This is a non-story Richard because it was all down to clerical error and misunderstandings about the timing of returns on expense Forms.
Head of PPC – Deputy Russel Labey summed it all up and it’s what they call a Storm in a Teacup.
No it wasn’t
It’s about Jersey’s usual ability to turn a blind eye to the law
Surprised you cared so much!
Only people who have got excited about it all in Jersey is an ex serial losing Deputy and a few Bloggers who are well known haters of Jersey and all it offers.
This is why the Media has shown very little interest in this non-story.
Ah, that’s always true Jersey response
Never mind the law….we all agreed to ignore it except for those awkward ones on the boat in the morning
“The Jersey Way”, as I said
I would remind “James” that it we islanders who are the patriots that stay and fight for democratic principles. He personifies the haughty indifference of elite thinking in Jersey, where power goes virtually unchallenged given the tight control of state and media. Peel away the facade of Bourgeois respectability and one reveals an authoritarian culture, highly intolerant to dissent.
Excuses have had to be found to cover up that the political class, both of Left and Right, are implicated. The States Assembly is clearly too much of a “cosy club” where pallyness and consensus reign.
The Jersey Media employs an army of journalists in an island of around 100,000 people, yet not one has been to the Judicial Greffe to inspect the 91 publically available candidate returns and report to the public what they find.
With uncanny unanimity the matter has been closed down as a news worthy topic. The silence is deafening. In an island where 70% voter abstention prevails, any public concern is confined to shrugged shoulders, raised eyebrows and resigned acceptance that this is “the Jersey Way”. To remain living on the island is to accept the rich, the powerful and politically connected, are unaccountable.
BBC radio Jersey are the worst culprits. Their Morning news programme only carried the issue once the Attorney General had issued a press statement regarding the reasons for his withdrawing charges against 2 elected Deputies and an unsuccessful candidate. The media never probed any of the assumptions behind the statement. The “party line” was pushed that it was all a “storm in a teacup”; a deliberate and crafted damage limitation exercise. The resident “tame” academic, Dr Adrian Lee, formerly of Plymouth University, was interviewed to endorse and gloss that position.
Overt censorship is not uncommon on BBC Radio Jersey. Without any shame the BBC edited out 30 seconds of a live interview expressing gratitude to Bloggers for exposing the truth, by one of the accused Deputies, Scott Wickenden, when the 7 minute interview was repeated twice on Saturday morning.
What you describe sounds horrendous Nick.
Political dysfunction everywhere.
We are not far off he same on mainland Britain. The trajectory seems the same.
I do wonder how many times Nick Le Cornu has to stand for election and fail to get the Jersey message.
As I said before, PPC have already given plausible explanations as to what happened here and have said the Law is not fit for purpose. Therefore amendments are forthcoming.
So hardly a big story of scandal like some are portraying.
And I have heard such things so often from Jersey, where the rule of law is decidedly optional
No wonder you are held in contempt by most in the world
“No wonder you are held in contempt by most in the world”
That’s nonsense Richard and you know it.
‘Contempt by most of the World’, how desperate.
Actually, wherever I go that is what I here
I’m sure that there is a YouTube clip somewhere out here where a man being interviewed about some issues pertaining to Jersey outside a Jersey police station gets interrupted by a thug (commonly known as a ‘policeman’ in many proper jurisdictions) who sets off the siren on his motorbike to drown out the interview and then having had his fun laughs and walks off.
Was that Jersey? I think so.
If that is what the Jersey constabulary are capable of I can think of many more words than ‘contempt’ to describe Jersey. I certainly won’t be going there for a holiday.
“James” can rest assured that Nick Le Cornu will continue to campaign for democratic and accountable government in his home island.
“James” sounds like an apologist for States Members and candidates, blaming typographical error on the Expenses Return Form, rather than their incompetence in accurately completing and returning on time.
The “plausible explanations” by the head of the Privileges and Procedures Committee, Deputy Russel Labey, would be believed only by the gullible. The Expenses Law is fit for purpose. The consequences are inconvenient when it exposes so many and they have to receive a pardon to avoid a criminal conviction. Amendments will ensure the legislation is neutered.
It was BBC Radio Jersey that coined the “Teacup storm” as part of the cover up and damage limitation exercise.
Nick Le Cornu, the way you behave and attack people is good enough reason for people not to vote for you. Jersey is fed up of people who use Politics as a stick to beat others and you have true form of that when you lost after a poxy 6 months in the States.
As for the story, I followed this up until the interview with Deputy Russell Labey who crushed all your conspiracy theories and frankly ridiculous assumptions here.
It was a badly drafted Law which was simply badly managed. When the slip dash issues were discovered the AG had o choice but to drop the initial charges.
It could have happened anywhere so why single out Jersey, or is that a stupid question on here?
James
With respect, people around the world are fed up with the politics of tax havens that has been used to beat most people on the planet to enhance the wealth of a tiny minority
And how does that happen?
Because Jersey has always turned a blind eye to legal compliance
Nick has been brave enough to say that and live in Jersey. That’s a definition of real courage. You won’t even give your name. I make the contrast deliberately.
Throwing abuse from behind a veil of secrecy is “the Jersey Way”
Nick is brave? You are having a laugh.
He is well known for attacking the Finance Industry and other States Members but people ignore him.
If he had any respect he wouldn’t get trashed at every election.
Richard iIt is a shame you use any bit of tittle tattle to attack Jersey but as the Finance Industry currently boasts record employment with hundreds of jobs available we won’t be losing any sleep about it!
And I note you did not respond to the suggestion you identify yourself
Coward is, I think, the right response
Nick and I have honour
You? None at all
If Identify myself you will attack the Finance Firm I work for.
Good to see you match yourself up with Nick though.
Both used to work in Offshore Finance, oh the irony.
No I did not…..
I have to say that there is something rather hegemonic in the class sense about Governance in Jersey.
If it was a bunch of socialist trying to take control, I think even the Americans would have invaded by now.
Our island has become so corrupt it isn’t funny – whats sickening now is that the demographic is full of people who are not from here – they have no motivations to safeguard the human rights of all islanders , uncover corruption , and bring the government and its authorities to account – they only care about themselves on this small little island and wont rock the boat ….even if it means having offences committed against them .
I was speaking to a jersey born local yesterday about some evidence of him and his family being victims of government and police corruption – By complete chance he uncovered evidence of a civil servant behind it with all the criminal thresholds etc and it proving that evidence against he and his family was knowingly fabricated to benefit someone who was in business competition with him.
He went to see 8 different layers and they all told him that they were “conflicted” and couldn’y represent in civil/criminal matters against the police and the Ministerial department . He has been to several States Members but they have all got scared and have not brought those to account in the political process – he put in his complaint to the Ministers against several persons involved including the police and a Law Officer in the AG office ….. with the supported evidence of emails well over a year ago – its so damning that the only way they can cover it up is for them to just pretend he doesn’t exist .
Our island has become a corrupt hell hole – nobody fights for justice in such a small island – they are afraid of the retribution and dangers to their assets and lifestyle.