Saturday 28 June 2008

Battle for the crown

The Miss Battle of Flowers Competition 2008, held at the Pomme d'Or on Saturday, 14th June, was a riveting evening with 13 attractive young women competing for the prestigious title. Miss Battle of Flowers 2008 is Holly Fraser, and we wish her every success in her reign. There was a good representation from the Parish of St Saviour, both in numbers with some strong support for our two contestants and with former Miss St Saviour and the reigning Miss Battle of Flowers, Vicky Trehorel, handing over her tiara and placing the sash over Holly's shoulders. Vicky has been a great ambassador for our Island and for our parish and her final speech was a fine example of the charm and intelligence with which this young woman has carried out her duties.

5 comments:

The Moving Finger said...

"AS the Connétable of St Saviour I am conscious that without a contested election, you have not had a chance to read my manifesto or put to me any issues or concerns you may have. My blogspot is a place to discuss and debate and I am looking forward to seeing what you have to say..."

I repeat my previous, ignored, question.
Why did you vote for GST. a Tax on the Poor to Feed the Rich?

Peter Hanning said...

Thank you for your comment, Mr Le Sueur, and for the opportunity to reply to it.
The proposition to establish a General Sales Tax was voted in principle in the States before I became Connétable in 2007 and became a States Member, so I had not been party to any of the debates, discussions or information that led the members to vote in favour of GST.
As a States Member, and able to be part of the later debates, I voted against GST on food, but given the downturn in the global economy, I did not feel that we could delay implementation of a tax that had already been agreed.
While not liking GST, I would rather we pay 3% now, than delay and risk 10% or more later – that would have been irresponsible. It should also be noted that some UK High Street stores are now contributing more to Jersey’s coffers as many of them have absorbed GST without passing it on to the customer.

The Moving Finger said...

Dear Constable Hanning,
I appreciate your reply and to be fair others are not so accommodating.

You say you voted against GST on food.
Had you and the other 27 voted with your consciences that particular vote would never have happened anyway.

GST is an extra burden on the less well off of this island. Yes, you can say that the extreme poor are protected by the so called 'safety net'
What about the person who just scrapes a living? 3% on the price of bread is a lot to them. Nothing to people like our new, unwanted 11K.
The problem is that greed in this island has become the controlling factor. GST simply helps the more wealthy people who live here to avoid paying their fair share of tax.

If GST stays it will become 10% and more anyway. We all know that. It will be the quick fix for every deficit.

UK stores absorbing the GST only makes the cost of living artificially low and UK firms should have been stopped making their exorbitant charges anyway.

Sadly, the States have no idea and in some cases no interest, in the
plight of those down their money chain.

Unknown said...

"It should also be noted that some UK High Street stores are now contributing more to Jersey’s coffers as many of them have absorbed GST without passing it on to the customer."

It's all very nice to say some stores contribute to Jersey's coffers, but how exactly do the public benefit? The much richer finance industry has been contributing to Jersey's coffers for decades, and look where that's got us. I look around and don't see the utopia which in theory those years of coffer-filling should have created for the people of this island.

With GST in mind I'd be interested to hear why you - as an elected public representative - voted for the tax in the full knowledge that at least 19,000 members of the public didn't want it.

And please correct me if I'm wrong, but I take it the 10% figure you quote was given to you by Terry Le Sueur? Or did you independantly research the issue?

Barbara said...

If Jersey does become Independent from the UK,does that mean we can have that large area of quality beautiful landscaped public land back i.e Government house?
We could solve the Town park situation and build some affordable housing within the parish ?