23/10/2011 The Politics Show South West


23/10/2011

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The MP who says a badger cull could lead to human fatalities. This is

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going to take place during night- time so it will be dark. How do you

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1776 seconds

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keep people off the land if you Hello, and welcome to the Politics

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Show in the South West. This week, a house of Lords

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committee warned that patient 50 is being put at risk by doctors and

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nurses who cannot speak good English. It is against European

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rules to test the language skills of health professionals from other

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European states. There were new powers announced last month but

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negotiations about changing the law are ongoing. The Devon MP and GP

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says there should be a Europe-wide register of doctors to protect

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patients. Around 3,000 doctors who trained in

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the EU registered to work in the UK last year. Foreign doctors play a

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crucial role in the NHS. I was very sick but I do not think the doctor

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realised I had swine flu. I said I had stolen pains but he did not

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really understand what I meant. -- stomach pains. He did not

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understand the area of my body. you have passed exams to be

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embedded in the EU you have the right to work in the UK. -- eight

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medic. The upper Tees cannot Testa English. -- authorities. Some

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people think this amounts to double Sarin -- standards. It seems

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nonsensical that it does not apply because of where they come from.

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Particularly because there have historically been more affiliations

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between English medical skills and those in the colonies such as

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Australia and New Zealand, and those in the EU. Daniel lost his

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life because of a German doctor's mistake. He was killed by a massive

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dose of a common painkiller. It was the doctor's first shift in the UK.

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He had got on to a list of practising GPs. One of the issues

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in this case was his poor grasp of English. We need foreign doctors in

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the NHS. We couldn't function without foreign doctors. The vast

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majority of them are perfectly competent and can communicate in

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English language but there are loopholes that allow EU doctors,

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who are incompetent and can communicate, into this country.

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a bunny had European qualifications so it would have been illegal for

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his clinical or language skills to be checked before he worked in the

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UK. It is all to do with freedom of movement for EU workers. It has

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always been the responsibility of the employer to ensure staff are

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competent. Although he got on a list run by NHS Cornwall he never

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worked for them. The trusts is it that asks for a lead and which test

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certificate for all non UK qualified doctors. -- a language

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test. A house of Lords report this week calls for a stronger checks on

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doctors and nurses walking across Earlier this month, the government

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introduced stronger safeguards. All NHS employers have to make sure

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they are happy doctors are Plymouth in English. A named person in each

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organisation has to take responsibility for this. The

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General Medical Council has been given stronger powers to

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investigate if concerns are raised after someone starts working in the

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UK. Some people feel that these government changes do not go far

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enough. My father died just because of this system that is in place at

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the moment. I understand that it is going to be tightened up by making

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irresponsible of us are accountable for testing in -- English language

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and clinical Competency and make that mandatory. It is tightening up

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the rules but you have still got a two-tier system and the gold

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standard must be to test the doctors at point of registration.

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Former GP and Thomas Empey Sarah Wollaston thinks there register

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would be the best way forward. -- They will be tested before they can

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start to practise. We want to see them going further and over the

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next few years of making sure that organisations like the GMC and the

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nursing council have access to a single point of contact when they

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can check that there are concerns about doctors in their own country.

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Proposals are expected by the end of the year. They could recommend a

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tightening of the rules but it will take at least another year for the

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changes to come in. Just days after coming to power the

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government committed itself to a badger cull as part of a package of

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measures to tackle the mounting problem of bovine tuberculosis. 18

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months on it is unclear whether it will happen. Ministers are

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finalising their response to the second consultation on the proposal.

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Meanwhile, as MPs debated the issue again on Tuesday, it was clear

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passions on both sides remain as strong as ever.

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We should now be close to finding out whether the coalition

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government will authorise a badger cull. If it does so, in the first

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instance that will only mean to pilot culls but even that will

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provoke furious opposition and eight legal challenge. This week

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that plans ran into criticism in the Commons. One Labour MP has

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suggested that if the government authorises a badger cull, human

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lives could be put at risk. I caught up with Mairead London, the

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MP for North Tyneside, and pressure on the issue. -- I caught up with

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the MP for North Tyneside. You are suggesting lives could be at risk.

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Is that not alarmist? If there is a colt there has been no money

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committed for safety to actually police and keep the protesters and

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anyone else, perhaps even those carrying out the cull, saved. It

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would cost �200,000 a year in policing alone. That has not been

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costed into the cull. The home secretary has actually said that

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the money is not coming from there and DEFRA is making cuts, so who is

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going to pay for it? You are suggesting that protesters might

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end up getting shot by accident? Yes, that could easily happen. This

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is going to take place during night-time. It will be dark. How do

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you keep people off the land if you haven't got it properly marshalled?

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As the farmers are going to be responsible, who will advise them

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about that if there are no police around? When you say about it that

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is a massive issue in itself. is not your only objection. You say

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this is one of the subject she get a lot of correspondence on. I

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expect most of those letters are anti cull. I also expect to have

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not many farmers in your constituency? We only have four

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forums. My constituency is only -- a largely urban. We have a

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countryside park. Other than that people are generally concerned. I

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have had a lot of people contact me because they are concerned about

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the fact that it isn't signed tepidly proven that it is going to

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be the best way to control bovine TB. -- scientifically proven.

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Ministers are agreed that a cull would mean a 16% drop in bovine TB

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levels. A few are going to do this in a way that you are going to

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change what is happening, then the 16%, what will happen to the

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others? About 75%... Would it not make inroads? Fathers feel they

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have been fobbed off for years by the government saying there will be

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a vaccine at some point. It always seems to be at a distant point in

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the future where the problem gets worse and worse. They have got to

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concentrate on getting the vaccine right. It cannot be never and never.

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Farmers feel like it has been like that. I hop farmers do not think I

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am unsympathetic. This is their livelihood. We depend on them to

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feed us and the fact that they have had to have 25,000 animals

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destroyed last year at a cost of nearly �90 million to the taxpayer

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as well, a cull, which is only going to solve 16% of the problem

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and not emphasise how we can eradicate TB, it is not moving

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forward. It is kind of a step back. The previous government were doing

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six Faxing Tests and five of them had been cancelled, which is a

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concern. -- the vaccine tests. Anything moving forward to develop

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a vaccine for her cattle -- for cattle and continue to vaccinate

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the badgers and how we can eradicate it is fine. There is

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another problem of getting European blog changed so if we have animals

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vaccinated... Another reason the government say we should be pushing

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Colin? There are falling back on Colling. -- on the cull.

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Investigating the science would be a better stab.

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On Tuesday at Westminster one of Cornwall's MPs raised concerns

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about the proposal to give protection to an area of the seabed

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off Falmouth. Conservationists say it will put -- protect a unique

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habitat but others say it will prevent dredging and cost the local

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economy millions. Falmouth is one of Europe's biggest

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harbours. Its port supports 1,400 jobs. Some say these jobs will be

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lost if plans for eight Marine Conservation Society goes ahead.

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The plan to give a special environmental protections to an

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area of the seabed out there has pleased conservationists but it has

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caused some anxiety in Falmouth amongst businesses, who say it

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could get in a way of plans to dredge the harbour which in turn,

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could cost the town's economy thousands of pounds and hundreds of

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jobs. One of the key proposals is the dredging of a new approach

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channel in the docks which the council says would be of economic

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benefit as larger ships would be able to access the port. The

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dredging plan is already on hold because of environmental concerns

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and now, its backers are facing another potential obstacle. We are

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very concerned about it. We are working hard on the mark -- port

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masterplan and looking for a future for the port. That involves a

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dreading -- dredging scheme which is difficult in an area of

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conservation. We feel if the reference site goes forward, then

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the dredging aspects of this proposal become even more difficult,

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if not impossible. This bank is home to a rare species of sea weed

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which forms a habitat similar to a coral reef. It is protected by

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European law but last month, the government was presented with a

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proposal to give his side a highest possible level of protection.

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idea of reference areas is to provide protection for the very

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best examples of different habitats. That provides a comparison that we

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can make with other areas that support Merle. There are bits of it

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in other areas around the coast. By protecting this and keeping it in

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the high-quality state that it is, we can have a comparison to make

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with these other areas so we can understand how they are impacted

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generally by other activities. Cornwall Council is predicting a

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bleak council -- future for Falmouth docks if the reference

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site is given approval. It would prevent us for carrying out

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bridging which is important for a future prosperity in the docks.

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They would go into decline. I am aware that some of the business is

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currently based in the docks might use that as an opportunity to

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locate elsewhere, which means we would not just lose jobs slowly

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over a period of time but we could lose dozens if not hundreds of jobs

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in short order. Falmouth's MP is also concerned. She raised the

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issue at Westminster this week. really think we have got plenty of

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Environment a protection at the moment. I grew up in the area and I

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am pleased to see the quality of the water has improved and the

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protection for the environment is there. I do not think we need any

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more. She says she was assured by the response from the minister who

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says everyone in their community will be properly consulted.

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The Channel Island of Jersey went to the polls this week for what was

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almost its first general election. The island does not have political

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parties and until March the different seats in the house have

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been pulled at different times but at this time, almost all of the

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seats were being contested. Jersey is well known for a number

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of things. Its cars, it potatoes, its tax status and this man, who

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did wonders for the island's tourism in the 1980s. It is easy

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for people from the UK to forget that jersey has its own government

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and that it is like a country in its own right. This week the

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islanders went to the polls for what was almost but not quite the

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first general election. The States of Jersey now has 51 members. 10

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are senators elected by the whole of the island. 29 are deputies who

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represent local districts. 12 are constables, elected by their

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parishes, local figureheads. Between them they elect a chief

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minister and a Cabinet. It was almost a general election because

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six senators seats were not up for re-election. In 2014 there will be

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a full general election but it is still being phased in. The big

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winner was formerly the island's be live. If 80% -- with 80% of

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islanders selecting him he is a prime candidate for a minister.

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made it clear that my primary objective was to see reform in the

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constitution of the States and a change in the way the States

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operates so that the parliament of the island becomes more efficient

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and more effective. I have to think what is the best way to achieve

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that objective. There are a number of options that are open to me.

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Will he stand and if so, who will he face? This has given him a

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potential Monday possibly to stand as chief minister. There is going

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to be speculation about this over the next few weeks until the new

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states convenes in December and proceeds to elect a new chief

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minister and cancel minister that Council of Ministers. -- and

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Council of Ministers. Some states were pledging to make changes.

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of the key changes his people fed up with the bickering that has

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characterised the last assembly. If I were to stand I would bring

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forward a Council of Ministers that harnessed talents across the

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political spectrum. With former constables taking the role

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unopposed it was the first time it was the first time it was contested

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in over 100 years. Patrick, 1143. It was fantastic to have the

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support of the parishioners. I did not expect that amount. If you want

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to make you're difference get on the electoral roll! The estate have

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been rolled the help of a fictitious former on the internet

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to get more people to vote. Turnout was up. Jersey has got a long way

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to go. Just a few weeks ago there was a general election on the Isle

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of Man and the turnout was 61.9%. The turnout in Guernsey in 2008 in

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their elections was 55%. Jersey has some way to go all this -- although

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this level of turnout represents improvement. The new members will

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