As Deputy Pitman has explained in his Posting, Senator Philip Bailhache, and his brother, Deputy Bailiff, William Bailhache, have been exploring the idea of independence since 2007 if not earlier. One must remember that Senator Philip Bailhache was Bailiff (Chief Judge) at the time and his brother William was Attorney General, both positions, supposedly not political.
Philip Bailhache retired as Bailiff and run for election as Senator and was duly elected with the help of Jersey's only "News"paper The Jersey Evening Post. The Senator ran on a platform of "the government spend too much time revisiting already agreed decisions (propositions) in the parliament" and "members should show more respect towards each-other." Yet as soon as he was elected, the first proposition he brought was revisiting and already agreed proposition where he managed to take away (hijack) the independence of the ElECTORAL COMMISSION. The second proposition he brought (through the alleged Chief Minister Senator Ian Gorst) was to overturn a proposition already agreed by the States and attempt to buy Headland at Plemont but that proposition was very narrowly defeated (25-24). As part of that proposition, the Senator, was more than willing to invoke "Compulsory Purchase" or as it has been described by a number of people "Robert Mugabe Land Grab." It was during this debate (and others) that Senator Bailhache (further going against his election campaign) was accused of personal insults against fellow politicians and members of the public. Readers can make up their own mind as to whether the accusations of personal insults are substantiated by listening to THIS. Some readers might be aware that subsequent to the defeat of purchasing Plemont in the island's parliament Senator Bailhache is STILL trying to get his hands on it and cannot accept the "democratically" reached decision. A man with a mission, and by the looks of it, a man with disregard to (what passes for in Jersey) "Democracy."
So back to the question of Independence for Jersey, where Deputy Trevor Pitman explains, in his latest posting, that this was an area the Former Police Chief, Graham Power QPM, was asked to look into by the Bailhache Brothers. Mr. Power had written about this in his 62,000 word interim defence case to the disgraced Wiltshire Constabulary. The Interim defence case that discredited and disgraced BBC refuse to publish despite them having reported on the PROSECUTION CASE.
"Such views are not confined to the older elements of the honorary service. They can be found, albeit in a more developed form, in the senior levels of government and the legal establishment where some notable figures favour an eventual severance of links with the U.K. and would see the ready acceptance of U.K. working practices as running counter to this agenda. I recall that in 2007 I assisted a small working group which included, among others, the Bailiff Sir Philip Bailhache and the Attorney General William Bailhache. The purpose of the group was to prepare a draft contingency plan for complete independence. I submitted papers to the group on the implications for law enforcement, and used some contacts from my previous role to offer suggestions as to who outside of the island, could assist in developing such a plan. I provided contact details of key figures in the Scottish Government and Administration including the Scottish National Party. I recall that some of the advice and contacts I provided were in an email I sent, probably in July 2007. This and other experiences reinforced my understanding that there was a tide flowing against closer association with the U.K, and a strong local agenda to develop working models and solutions within the island."
There are an ever growing population that believe we have a corrupt , and politicised, Judicial System on the island. Would Jersey's independence lose us the "safety" of the Privy Council? The European Court of Human Rights? Are either of them any use to us now? How will it affect our currency? How will it affect our relationship with Europe? What impact will it have on our Finance Industry? Is Jersey currently run by the politicians or the Judiciary? Will that change if Jersey is to become independent? Who will benefit from Jersey's independence and who will suffer for it? Would the UK welcome, or contest it? What are the chances of independence becoming a reality? How can it be achieved? Should we be scared (more scared than some of us are now)? Should we welcome independence? Should we do all we can to endeavour this does not become a reality?...............What can we do?