Gaza ceasefire proposition and views of Jersey population (FOI)

​​​​Request

The Minister for External Relations' letter to the UK Crown Dependencies Minister, Mike Freer, on 13 March 2024 stated that the amendments were made to the Gaza Ceasefire proposition to ensure that they “better reflect the views of a majority of the community in Jersey”. 

Please provide what supporting information was obtained, for example any surveys or polls, as well as who was met and engaged with, in order to be able to confirm to the UK Government that that the amended proposition reflected the majority view of the Jersey population.

Letter from the Minister for External Relations to the UK Crown Dependencies Minister (gov.je)

Response

Following the debate on P.7/2024 on 27 February 2024, the States Assembly voted to pass five out of six amendments tabled by the Minister for External Relations. These amendments were lodged following interactions by the Minister with parishioners, fellow States Members and representatives of Jersey’s faith communities.

The Minister for External Relations’ reference, in his correspondence to Minister Freer, to better reflecting the “views of a majority of the community in Jersey” acknowledges that there is no single ‘majority view of the Jersey population’ (as described in the request) on this complex issue, and that his amendments sought to reflect the diversity of opinions presented throughout his discussions.

The democratically elected States Assembly, whose Members represent the views of their constituents, debated and subsequently voted to approve the Proposition as amended.​