There are two points of view regarding Jersey’s parochial system: that it is a relic of the paternalistic past or that it remains as relevant as ever in a small, largely integrated community.
The draft plan does not address this divergence directly, but it tacitly recognises that the parishes still have an important role to play in ensuring that ours is a coherent community with shared values and shared interests.
It is also acknowledged that, in recent years, the gulf between the public and government and the administration has widened. At the parish level this manifests itself in fewer people being willing to serve in an honorary capacity and fewer having any connection with parochial affairs.
More generally, there has been a general dislocation between the mass of people and government. Too many Islanders believe that what they say and think will not be listened to and that the States are too remote and disconnected from public opinion.
The present administration says that it intends to address this problem and aims to convince Islanders that their opinions count. To use the jargon of the moment, the aim is to give the public a sense of ownership in the realm of public affairs.
• Picture: Continuity in St Clement. The current Constable Len Norman (second from left), with three previous Constables, Len Hamel, Derek Gray and Stan Le Cornu
