Deputy suggests higher pay for some politicians

Deputy Jonathan Renouf wants some States Members to be paid more, to make politics a more attractive career choice.

The St Brelade politician thinks the Chief Minister, ministers and some other members should receive a bigger salary than backbenchers, to reflect the extra responsibility in their roles.

Deputy Renouf will ask the Assembly to start a process that could open the door to differential salaries after the next election.

He says the current reward model is outdated.  The current law states:

“No scheme, agreement or other arrangement whatsoever for the remuneration of, or the payment of any allowance to, elected members out of the consolidated fund shall provide for different elected members to be entitled to receive different amounts of remuneration or allowance.”

In his proposition, he says:

"Every day, ministers take decisions about the safety and welfare of vulnerable people, they respond to emergency situations, they take decisions that affect the economy and therefore the quality of life of everyone on the Island. In every walk of life, it is recognised that greater responsibility should attract greater reward."

Deputy Renouf is not suggesting how much more those in leadership positions should get, saying that should be decided by the next Remuneration Reviewer - an independent position that considers States members' earnings.

However, his proposition estimates it could add £200,000 a year to the wage bill if the Chief Minister, Ministers and Assistant Ministers and Committee and Scrutiny Panel Chairs are paid more.

Current pay for all politicians is £57,296.40 

 Deputy Jonathan Renouf

Deputy Renouf acknowledges that asking for more money for politicians is rarely a popular idea, but believes this is a chance to invest in Jersey's democracy, which could attract high-quality candidates into future elections:

"We get a lot of complaints about the standard of States Members, but you have to say, 'if you're not happy with the way things are at the moment, what are we doing to try and improve it?'.

"Everybody who is in the Assembly now has bought into the (current) system so, in a sense, we don't have a shortage of people who want to be ministers, and so on.  But what we're not looking at is the people who don't look at the Assembly as a serious institution.

A number of people told us that the idea that the Ministers and Chief Minister don't get more is 'bonkers' and it doesn't make sense to them or reflect society as a whole.

- Deputy Jonathan Renouf, St Brelade

The deputy told Channel 103 that in other professional roles, as people move up the ladder and commit years to their employer, it is often reflected in their wages.

"We need to be thinking about widening the pool of people who stand in the Assembly and for younger people - to say to them, 'you're never going to earn more than when you came in' - doesn't seem to me to offer an attractive proposition to people who may be younger or in the middle of their career."

The proposal, which the deputy describes as 'a modest piece of housekeeping that updates the Assembly in line with the rest of society' is likely to be debated next month.