Robert Weston
Election for Senator
Wednesday 24th March 2004
When you have thought about the issues
AND about the candidates
please remember ....
you can only make a difference
BY ACTUALLY GOING OUT AND VOTING

Jersey is in a period of critical change. But change provides opportunities as well as challenges. More than ever, The States needs to have NEW thinking from someone who not only cares about the disadvantaged and unfortunate but is also thoughtful, thorough, businesslike and practical. Someone who is experienced but ready to listen; and effective without being confrontational. Someone like me, with the maturity and the courage to speak out , whenever necessary, for the next decade or so.

Full employment, with a wide range of good, well-paid jobs, will NOT come from governmental job-creation schemes. On the contrary, it is government over-regulation and its tendency to try to control everything, that stifles initiative and business growth. The reality is that, without a thriving business community, the prospects for employment, the ability to raise sufficient tax to pay for essential services and the future, for everyone of us who lives in Jersey, will be bleak.

I am not an “Anti-Establishment” Candidate. I believe resolutely in the need for a stable and well-respected government. But it does need to be smaller, more efficient and less expensive.

I am for:

• Keeping our financial services industry strong - or we will have a massive void to fill.
• A buoyant and diverse economy, with an open, competitive, flexible, entrepreneurial environment, in which our other industries and new businesses are also able to flourish and grow. Otherwise, unemployment will simply continue to rise and youngsters will continue leaving Jersey.
• An early return to full employment, so anyone who loses a job can quickly find a new one.
• De-regulation - every regulation should be audited for both its benefit and its cost-effectiveness and, where they don't measure up, they should just be abolished.
• A proper immigration policy that is flexible and humane, recognising that people are not just statistics and that our population is growing naturally because people are living much longer.
• Competent, hard-working, Public Sector employees – I fully recognise your value, but ONLY so long as you are doing work that the Island does really need to have done.
• Supporting the less well-off - but not the lazy.
• Open, honest and responsive government, with strong but compassionate leadership.

I am against:

• More taxation of any kind BEFORE government expenditure has been substantially reduced and government efficiency has materially improved. A "tax & spend" mind-set is unacceptable.
• Restrictive practices in both the Public AND Private sectors or anything that fuels inflation.
• Unnecessary or ill-considered new legislation that has not been properly audited first.
• Regulatory legislation that stifles business and discourages investment in the Island.
• Talking the Island down – Jersey is a wonderful home that has been good to most of us.

Nostalgia is a lovely emotion, that we all indulge in from time to time. But elections are about serious issues and about deciding on the best candidate to tackle them long term. This means voting with our minds as well as our hearts. If there is any policy area of particular importance to you, please call me on 619917. I'll be delighted to hear your views and to discuss them with you.

With thanks to my family: my wife Jenny, my children Nigel, Daniel and Tamara and my mother Ena.

And my proposer and seconders: Derek Bernard, Lyndon Farnham, Jennifer Weston, Don Filleul, Stephen Regal, Suzie le Quesne, Pierre Horsfall, Robert Kisch, Jacqueline Flath and Craig Leach

Last updated: 18^th of March 2004 by JerseyWeb.