The Jersey Democratic Alliance

[Jason the Maverick]

That is because it is a dying tribe......

[Conductor]

Its a disgrace.

Their main spokesman Geoff Southern says he will ignore the law and still fill in postal votes for the elderly and infirm because he knows he cannot back get in any other way.

Neither of the Pit Bulls live in St Helier but they still go for the seats in the district (in between ripping down other elect posters).

And they have a website trying to con young people when they aren't trying to con the elderly.

They should be ashamed of themselves.

[JungleDirector]

I'm sort of in two minds about that issue. Finance has become so important because we made it become important. It's very much a Frankenstein's monster in that respect....because the day will come when it will want to go for a walk in the woods...

Without Finance the island would have continued to develop naturally, relying on tourism and agriculture, and the demographic would have developed accordingly - and right now maybe we'd be raking it in from the Internet boom, completely on our own terms, rather than handing our destiny to the bankers.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut...keeping matters on topic...

This is a problem I have with the JDA.  From my point of view they initially looked like a straight-forward, common-sense party. I had high hopes for them when they first emerged, really thought we were finally going to see a much needed breath of fresh pumped into local politics.

But digging a bit deeper I picked up something of a rather Communistic vibe, which is off putting. For me it not only suggests a party mired in a past and philosophy which has proven itself to have failed spectacularly, but conjures up images of misguided zealots working for their own hidden agenda.

With some radical modernisation, really pushing the "Democratic" angle of their name, they'll be in with a good chance of being taken seriously in the mainstream. But to carry on as they are now? I can't see them having much success in the near future.  They need an image overhaul, it's that simple.

This is an interesting post of almost a year ago "a communistic vibe".

The image of the JDA isn't really mainstream even now.

Ted Vibert was the best when he ran the show for sure.

[JungleDirector]

This group is just a load of confused Tories. I think I may have to leave. YOu obviously want Walker and Le Sueur in power as you have burnt all your bridges with anyone who opposes them.

This is another interesting post.  I don't think the JDA have ever said this.  But I know a new deputy that has and on many occassions, especially on facebook.

[Dundee]

Anyone know what is happening with the JDA? I hear Ted Vibert is giving a hand for future candidates, then rumblings:

http://jdacmb.blogspot.com/2010/08/reader-feedback-needed-urgently.html

As Ted and Geoff prepare their new team for their 2011 campaign, so some of the longer serving JDA Council Members will be standing down from it very shortly. Including most of the contributors to this blog.

So, we could go two ways, depending on public demand:

The default, if we don't get significant demand for the other option, will be to rebrand this blog, keeping these authors, and launch a new JDA Council blog, with a new URL, for the new Council.

The alternative is that the current authors simply walk away from this one, and our current readers go look for us elsewhere on the web. So this URL remains the JDA Council's.

Tell us now, if you care which we do.

****

Looks like the babies have spat their dummies and its their ball and there not letting Ted have it routine! 

All a far cry from when Ted and Tony Keogh launched the party and they had a 1,000 listening to some reasoned opposition.

Anyone know exactly what and is happening?

[tonytheprof]

Yes, there was quite a lot in the JEP at the weekend.

Ted Vibert is talking about "repositioning" the party more to the centre/left of Jersey politics, rather than just at the left.

Quite what that means in terms of policies is anyone's guess.

But in practice, the failure of Geoff Southern to get anywhere as Senator (twice) suggests they may be going for a kind of "Tony Blair" kind of New JDA.

All they need is someone charismatic, good at sound-bites, and who hasn't got any "glum" pictures that the JEP can use (as with Geoff Southern) - did you see the terrible gurning one after the last election.

[man in the street]

regarding this blog, it would be a sad day to see this blog go, its a good thing

[tonytheprof]

The blog is Dave Rotheram's and he's taken it with him, and will no doubt continue to make informed comment on Jersey politics.