Guernsey's lack of referendums 'scandalous'

It is scandalous that Guernsey residents are still unable to vote in referendums, according to a former deputy.

Tony Webber was behind a motion agreed by the States in 2003 to move towards their introduction.

He said the lack of progress had to be blamed on the Policy Council.

Its spokesman said it was "well aware of this outstanding resolution but has made a conscious decision to give other matters greater priority".

He said a number of issues needed to be decided before referendum legislation could be brought in, including the mechanics of the process, how it would be resourced and answering questions such as "would the answer to a referendum always be binding on the States?".

Mr Webber's comments followed the first ever referendum taking place in the island, which involved the island's Latvian community.

On Saturday 770 Latvians living in the island joined more than a million of their country men and women in a decisive vote against making Russian the country's official second language.