A Sound Economy
Back in January, when he was still thinking on whether to
stand, we were told the economy was in fairly good shape despite the economic downgrade of Jersey and Brexit. And behold, lots more funding would be
available – at any rate in the short term of a few years – for improving the grants to
students going to University on a massive scale.
It looked very much to outsiders like a pre-election gambit
to secure votes. Why suddenly wait until this point? But then at that point,
elections were starting to loom, and he would not be the first or last Treasury
Minister in Jersey or elsewhere to use his powers in this way. There is nothing
illegal about it, even if the timing suggests what is effectively a means of bribing
the electorate by putting extra money into the hands of voting parents (or
reducing costs, which is the same thing).
As I say, Treasury Ministers have done that in the past, and
the timing is usually the clue. It is a means of persuading the electorate by economic
incentives, and the electorate usually come out of it well.
Early March came, and the story was changing somewhat. The
JEP said:
“THE States are still on target to balance the books by 2019
but extra income will be needed to pay for ‘recurring’ spending recently
approved by the States, the Treasury Minister has warned”
March also saw this news about proposals regarding extra
funds for University grants:
“HIGHER-education funding proposals put forward by the
Treasury Minister should be considered an ‘interim measure’ until long-term funding
is in place, a Scrutiny panel has said.”
There was a note of caution but that was all.
“He added that he was concerned that recent votes in the
States had generated extra costs, which would require additional revenue to
eventually be generated.”
Doomed, Captain Mainwaring! We are all Doomed!
That was of course before he decided not to stand later in
March. But once he has decided, we
suddenly get dire warnings not apparent before:
“THE next Treasury Minister will need to find more than £25
million of funding and raise taxes to cover additional costs during the next
States term, the current minister has warned”
“Senator Alan Maclean said that £11 million of extra
spending approved by the Assembly this term, such as the States paying rates
and reinstating additional income support for single parents, would leave his
successor needing to raise taxes following May’s general election”
And in April:
“Treasury Minister Alan Maclean, having decided to stand
down at the forthcoming election, told the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel
that whoever followed him would have to find £11 million in a hurry and £25
million in all to cover additional committed expenditure during the next States
term. So, we’ve eaten the lunch, but can’t pay the bill.”
And yet he still wishes to go ahead with the proposals for
the students, even if these can only be funded in the short term.
“The States are due to debate whether to back Senator Alan
Maclean’s scheme on Monday 9 April in what will be the final sitting before the
election. However, while funding has been found to cover the scheme until 2020,
no mechanism has been identified beyond that to pay for the proposals.”
It makes no sense whatsoever. Whatever the merits of the
scheme, if the States are so strapped for cash that they need to raise extra
taxes, either income tax or by stealth mechanisms, why add to the problem?
Now it can no longer be seen as an attempt to induce the
electorate to vote for him, why do it?
Perhaps the answer can be seen in a JEP columnist who
commented about the Senator:
“He has overseen or been involved with various spending
reviews and is also known as the minister who authorised the controversial
£200,000 grant for the ‘Knights of Impossingworth’ film that has never been
made and was involved in the set up of the failed Jersey Innovation Fund – both
of which he maintains were good ideas that were poorly executed.”
If there is one word which sums up how politicians in the
modern era like to leave office, it is the word “legacy”. This proposed change
to student grants is only short term, no mechanism has been found for extra
funding, and it will only add to the long term tax burden that the Minister has
himself identified. But I suspect he wants to leave politics with a more
positive legacy than that described in the JEP article above.
Interesting, the statement to the JEP also says:
“I also intend to develop and manage my investment and
business interests, will seek some varied non-executive [advisory] director
roles.”
Does that mean he will turn up on a States Quango sometime
soon?
States members had a rather bad habit of ending political
careers by taking a stint as non-executive (and paid) Chairman of the States of Jersey
Development Fund.
After Pierre Horsfall and Gerard Voisin had both had a
stint, the States persuaded Terry Le Sueur that this “jobs for mates” approach
was no longer a good thing.
But it has not stopped other Quangos having ex-politicians
on their board as paid non-executives, and former Chief Minister Frank Walker is currently on two. Is
it perhaps time to revisit this again?
References
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