This week’s sitting of the States was marked by an unedifying spectacle as relations between ministers fell apart amidst considerable acrimony. The cause was a deep split in the government on the Housing Minister’s reforms to the Residential Tenancy Law (RTL). It is worth remembering that these proposals are official government policy – they were included in the “Common Strategic Policy”, which is the government’s programme.
It was amusing to see the Chief Minister (attending remotely) interrupting my speech when I characterised the situation as a “war” between ministers, and trying to argue that it was nothing of the sort. He was repeatedly challenged by the Bailiff for abusing his “point of information” requests by trying to make his own speech rather than request clarification. The Chief Minister had to suffer the indignity of the Bailiff asking for the CM’s microphone to be switched off. It all added to the impression that the Chief Minister was more than a little frazzled. The relevant part of the States sitting is clipped below – judge for yourself.
For what it is worth – and in the interests of balance – I will repeat what I have said previously, which is that I think the Chief Minister has done an excellent job of maintaining a stable government up until this point. He put together a Council of Ministers that included left and right, united them around a programme of government that offered something for all wings of his coalition, and has kept them together for 18 months with great skill. In the wake of the vote of no confidence, he restored stability and that is something for which we should be grateful as an island.
However, the fault lines inherent in his government were bound to fracture at some point and fracture they have. It is clear to all (except perhaps the CM) that ministers are indeed at war over the RTL. When it came to a Proposition to refer the RTL to Scrutiny (a piece of procedural nonsense designed to delay progress, given that Scrutiny had already said they would call the matter in once the “Principles” were approved), the CM pleaded with the Assembly not to delay the vote. 12 ministers (7 ministers and 5 Assistant Ministers) – a majority of his government – rejected his pleas.
The Chief Minister has attempted to manage the divisions in his government by allowing minister to opt out of supporting government policy under an “agreement to differ” policy. However, in practice this amounts to giving ministerial rebels consequence-free permission to vote against their fellow ministers, so long as they are polite enough to tell their ministerial colleagues in advance. The result is clear to see. In April the CM told the Assembly that he expected “one or two” members of his ministerial team to vote against the RTL. This week his prediction had swelled to “8 or 9”. When we finally get to the vote on in September, I think it could well be even more than that.
Most government’s impose some kind of voting discipline around their core programme, but this government would not survive any greater attempts to impose a collective vote on the RTL. In that sense, the CM is in an unenviable position.
Several people have asked me whether I think that a defeat for Deputy Mezec’s proposals would lead to Reform Jersey resigning from the government. I don’t think so (at least, not on this issue) and this reflects well on the Chief Minister. His own unequivocal support for the Housing Minister (in a strong speech, made despite clearly being under the weather) shows his own sincere support for the joint platform that was the foundation of his government.
Just to clarify matters regarding my own position, I do NOT support the 5% cap on rent increases and I think there may also be some room to modify some of the notice periods. However, I DO support the main thrust of the proposed changes. I remain open to hearing from members of the public regarding the matter – my email is j.renouf4@gov.je
(For really hardcore politicos, my speech on the RTL Proposition can be found here: https://statesassembly.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/1001310/start_time/4971000?force_language_code=en_GB)
Jonathan Renouf 