Jersey politicians relax election rules to allow more residents to vote
Politicians backed Deputy Hilary Jeune's proposal by 30 votes to 16, meaning the residency requirement will be reduced from two years to 12 months.
Deputy Jeune believes it is "a small but meaningful step toward a more inclusive democracy" ahead of Jersey's next General Election on Sunday 7 June 2026 - which will also see the role of Senators return.
While canvassing in 2022, she says newer residents were frustrated at the two-year rule as they wanted to vote but were shut out.
Her amendment argues that key workers and professionals moving to Jersey should be allowed to decide how the island is governed at an earlier stage, rather than being disenfranchised.
Deputy Jeune hopes the move will lead to higher public engagement in politics and greater voter turnout, as well as bringing the island in line with other jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man.
A review is also underway which could see all prisoners in Jersey given the right to vote - currently, those detained for longer than four years are disqualified from having their say in an election.
Want the inside track on the key issues that will shape Guernsey's Election this June? Listen to Guernsey Votes, an ITV Channel podcast packed with expert guests, local insight and analysis you can trust...
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
SNP set for fresh Holyrood selection contest as Kate Forbes quits
The Deputy First Minister said on Monday that she would not run for a third term as the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch – despite already having been confirmed as the [[SNP]]'s candidate in the constituency. Forbes's position was confirmed in April when the SNP revealed that she had been the only nominee to stand in the area, meaning there is no second-place challenger to step in and take her place. The SNP will instead have to run a fresh selection contest to decide who will represent the party in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch – a key target seat for the LibDems. In the 2021 elections, Forbes won 56.1% of the vote, while the Tories came second on 19.3%. The LibDems were in third with 15.7%. However, in the 2024 General Election, Angus MacDonald took the overlapping Westminster seat of Inverness, [[Skye]] and West Ross-shire for the LibDems with 37.8% of the vote against 33.3% for the [[SNP]]'s Drew Hendry. READ MORE: Scottish LibDem MP faces 'loyalties' questions over Conservative hire The National has asked Hendry if he intends to try and stand for the SNP in the now-vacant Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency in 2026. The LibDems are fielding Fort William and Ardnamurchan councillor Andrew Baxter in a bid to win the seat. The SNP announced their full slate of nominees for the 2026 Holyrood elections in May, meaning that Forbes's constituency is currently the only area without a confirmed party candidate. Prospective nominees needed to secure the support of 50 SNP members within the constituency. If more than one did so, the contest went to a ballot. The SNP has been approached for comment on the timings of the new selection contest.
The National
13 hours ago
- The National
Tommy Sheppard: Why an SNP majority is crucial in 2026
Until just a few months ago, they were accused of not mentioning independence enough. Now they are criticised for talking about it too much. Seems they can't win. John Swinney has had much to say on the topic in recent weeks. In various speeches, he has said independence must be central to the next election, that voting [[SNP]] is the best way to get it and that the party must work with others to achieve its goal. Thoughts on working with others, especially the idea of a new constitutional convention, next week. For now, let's look at Swinney's ambition to win a majority of seats for the SNP in May 2026, and his contention that this is necessary to move forward to independence. READ MORE: SNP members set for second meeting to challenge Scottish independence plan In one sense, a party leader setting out to win a majority of the seats in an election is hardly contentious. That's sort of the point. Smaller parties look daft if they ask you to believe they'll do that from a position of negligible support. But for a party that has done it before and nearly done it several times since, it's not an unreasonable aspiration. It would surely be more remarkable if the leader of the [[SNP]] declared that he didn't intend to win a majority. How tall an order is it, though? Frankly, who knows? The Holyrood voting system was devised to be more proportional than Westminster's. It is a bit. But not completely. And when voting intentions are volatile and opinion is fractured, the capacity for distortion is amplified. The majority of seats up for grabs next May are elected by first past the post. There will be at least six major parties contesting most of them, seven if Jeremy Corbyn's show gets on the road. The traditional Tory and Labour blocs will be divided by serious challengers. In these circumstances, any party that can command north of 30% support has to be a hot favourite to win. So, a party that can get the votes of a third or more of the electorate and whose support is evenly spread could well win 65 constituency seats. They would get none off the lists but that would be a majority. It is very unpredictable, the margins between winning and losing are small, and things could just as easily go the other way. But a majority is possible. It is, after all, just over a year since Labour won a UK General Election landslide on 34% of the vote. More controversial is the SNP leader's claim that only if he gets a majority will this be seen as a legitimate mandate to offer Scots their independence. Other, smaller, pro-independence parties have been outraged by the suggestion, instead advocating that all that is required is a majority of members in the Parliament elected on a commitment to self-government no matter what their party. Actually, both have a point. It is true that if the Parliament has a pro-independence majority and votes to demand that people get a choice on the matter, then that should be respected by the UK Government. But it is undeniably the case that any such demand will be harder to refuse if it is made by a party that has just won a clear majority. Especially if it is then bolstered by representatives from other parties. John Swinney cites historical precedent as evidence. The only time the UK accepted that people should have the right to choose was when the SNP won a majority in 2011. They have denied it ever since, even with a pro-indy majority in the Scottish Parliament. Salmond won a majority for the SNP in 2011 It doesn't, however, follow that they would do so again. A majority of those running the UK think Cameron made a mistake in accepting the outcome of the 2011 election as a trigger for a referendum. They are determined not to repeat it. They are building a barricade against Scottish aspirations for independence, founded on denying the legitimacy of the Scottish Parliament to do anything about it. READ MORE: SNP under fire over public energy firm as Wales launches wind projects And that is where we are. In the middle of a fight for legitimacy, for relevance, for the right to self-determination. That is why we need a strategy that doesn't stop at getting people to vote for an independence party or parties, but which sets out how those elected can mobilise Scotland behind the right to choose their future. That will require cross-party co-operation, civic engagement on a scale not seen since 2014 and stable, determined leadership in government. But there can be no question that the bigger the majority the principal party of independence has, the easier that task will be. And no question also that the converse is true. If the SNP are unable to form a government and a Unionist coalition triumphs, the cause of national autonomy will be gravely set back.
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
Risk and reward, Trump's Mini-Me and planting trees for the planet
Three readers (MetroTalk, Thu) debate why migrants run the risk of crossing the Channel in dinghies to get to Britain. To answer one point, migrants do claim asylum in safe countries in Europe, but if they are rejected they try again in the UK as we are no longer subject to the EU Dublin III agreement to automatically reject them. Others come as they speak English so have a better chance here. Single young men come – as they have throughout history – as they are most likely to survive dangerous travel, intending to settle and then send for their family. Allowing applications in France and a more thorough removal of failed claimants would discourage crossing attempts. Lewis Gibson, Birmingham I totally agree with Guy Wilkins (MetroTalk, Thu). Nigel Farage is Donald Trump's Mini-Me from the Austin Powers film and follows him without question, even wearing his 'Morons And Gormless of America' hats. Farage, like Trump, will make ridiculous promises with no possible way of achieving them. Facts and the truth are totally irrelevant to him, he incites fear and loathing of various groups and fails to condemn violence by the far right. They both live for publicity and adoration from the media. Farage would go to the opening of an envelope if a camera was present and without constant unjustified newspaper articles he would crumble as Dracula in sunlight. A Lloyd, Liverpool In response to my point that Jeremy Corbyn's new party will score an 'own-goal' by splitting the far-left vote and benefiting Reform, James Freeman (MetroTalk, Tue) and Brian Dooley (Wed) insist Labour could have avoided this by catering more for the leftist voter. However, neither mention that when Labour did this previously, they quickly became unelectable. As party leader, Corbyn's aspirations reduced Labour to its worst General Election defeat since 1935, giving Boris Johnson a landslide victory in 2019. Labour's previous experiment with socialism under Michael Foot resulted in Labour's 1983 pre-election manifesto being described as 'the longest suicide note in history' and gifted a huge majority to Margaret Thatcher. Labour has little to fear by losing the niche hard Left and should let Corbyn and his disciples get on with it. Labour must stop terrifying the wealth creators in this country with counterproductive policies and focus on gaining centrist support while masses of the electorate feel uneasy about the rise of Reform and exasperated by the deficiencies of Conservative and the Lib Dems. Robert Hughes, London We hear much about the catastrophic effects of carbon on our climate but few people talks of the effect of expanding deserts. More Trending Expanding deserts are a threat to many countries – but there are signs of a fightback. The Great Green Wall is a project by the African Union to restore degraded land across 22 countries in the Sahel region. But its great success in planting trees – which will also act as a carbon sponge – will not help us as much as benefit the southern Sahara. Italy has recently suffered temperatures as high as 45C, which can be fatal. This heat comes from northern Africa. The way to reverse climate change in Europe is to emulate the Great Green Wall scheme by planting trees in northern Africa. Such a project would be more beneficial to us than the futile net zero programme, which is destroying whole industries and thousands of good jobs. Mark Hardinge, Worcester There can be no excuses for the levels of violence carried out by Mohammed Fahir Amaaz at Manchester Airport against the police and a member of the public (Metro, Thu). The guilty verdicts were correct and I look forward to robust sentencing shortly. You cannot attack any emergency worker just because you don't like them doing their duty. I look forward to the retrial Amaaz and his brother face after the jury could not reach a verdict on the charge they assaulted a male PC causing ABH. Robert Boston, Kent MORE: Oasis fan dies after falling from stands at Wembley Stadium concert MORE: Rat the size of a dog found as monster vermin run riot in Yorkshire village MORE: Police continue to hunt 'brutal' killers of mum, 22, shot dead with toddler upstairs
