A Power of Recall

Over the past few weeks in the UK there have been several debates that appear to have captivated a degree of public attention. Not least of these is the issue of equal marriage (which it won’t surprise any of my readers that I fully support and hope will become law in Jersey soon enough). But something that has also been discussed is the idea of introducing a system of recall for politicians, so that it is possible for the public to sack an MP before their term is up.

I think this is a great idea and want to suggest how it could work in Jersey.

For those that haven't heard of the concept before, a recall motion is essentially a petition that is launched by members of public which, if it can obtain the signatures of a certain percentage of the electorate, triggers a by-election for that MP's seat.

It is meant to exist as a safeguard to keep politicians on their toes and not to thoughtlessly disregard their manifesto pledges

At the moment there is nothing to stop an MP being elected, working for 6 months, realising that it isn't really their thing, then running off to relax on a beach in Barbados for the remaining 4 and a half years, at the taxpayers expense.

Or worse - an MP is elected on a key manifesto pledge of, for example, abolishing university tuition fees, only to then enthusiastically vote in favour of tripling them at the very beginning of their term in office.

They say a week is a long time in politics, so 5 years is close to an eternity. Knowing that their judgement day is not for a very long time, after all sorts of other political scandals may have passed to fog their constituents memories, it could be easy for an MP to get very complacent and forget the promises they made.

Knowing that there is a mechanism for kicking them out, if they are not conducting themselves in the way that they promised to get elected, would keep MP's from selling out and losing touch with the public.

It’s a system that already exists in many countries, including the USA and Venezuela. Most notably, former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected in an election that was triggered by a recall.

There is of course a legitimate worry that well organised groups could hijack the process and easily gather the required signatures so they can try and kick out a politician, not because they have done something wrong, but because those interested have a political agenda and want to get someone of their party/ philosophy elected in time for an upcoming vote.

However it has to be said that even in America, where those with pretty dodgy political agendas are very well organised, that this doesn't seem to have been the case. Recall petitions are launched very regularly, however it's only on few occasions that they succeed.

I think that the public would be smart enough to see through a petition that was launched by people with ulterior motives, rather than genuinely concerned citizens disappointed with the behaviour of a politician.

In the UK, Tory MP Zac Goldsmith brought forward a bill (which was subsequently voted against) which is very easy to read and worth having a look at to get an idea of how a recall system could work in a British context.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2012-2013/0050/13050.pdf

Now the government is looking to bringing forward legislation for a recall system, however it would be one in which a committee of MPs would decide who is up for recall. Meaning the public would have no direct say in initiating it, instead leaving it exclusively to those with a political agenda and wanting to get rid of those that are causing too much of a fuss and refusing to obey the party whips. It would be nothing more than a tool for getting rid of the George Galloway's or the Nadine Dorries' and certainly not in the interests of advancing democracy.

So how could a recall system work in Jersey?

Here's what I think the process could look like -

• Either available for download on the States website, or by request to the States Greffe, there should be an official petition template available (where the States Member and constituency is filled out) that must obtain signatures from 1% of the electorate in the relevant constituency.
  
• Either the Greffe or the Parish Secretary (whichever is deemed to be more appropriate) then checks the petition against the electoral register to make sure all signatures are legitimate.
  
• Then a polling booth should be set up in the Parish Hall to be left open for one month, in which time electors could come and sign the petition.
  
• If at the end of the 4 weeks a significant percentage of the electorate has signed it (say 30%) then a by-election must be held on a certain day, in which the recalled candidate is free to choose whether or not to stand in.

Given how low our election turn outs are I think a 30% threshold isn't unreasonable, but it could be altered depending on how it works out.

So, since such a system could easily be put in place regardless of what electoral system we end up having, could a States Member bring forward a proposition to implement it? Deputy Trevor Pitman told me that he did once have a proposition drafted and approved that would do such a thing, but for one reason or another it was shelved.

I have no doubt that no-matter who brought such a proposition forward, it would never pass in a million years because the vast majority of States Members we have just don't care once iota about political accountability and, frankly, are stuck in the dark ages when it comes to understanding the philosophy behind democracy and just want to carry on managing the island like a board of directors with as little interference as possible.