St Helier is the capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – and is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey. The town of St Helier is the largest settlement and only town of Jersey. The town consists of the built-up areas of St Helier, including First Tower, and parts of the parishes of St Saviour and St Clement, with further suburbs in surrounding parishes. The greater part of St Helier is rural.
Elections in Jersey take place for the States Assembly and at parish-level. Various parties have been formed over the years in Jersey, but few candidates stand for election affiliated to any political party. All elections in Jersey use the first-past-the-post voting system. In 2008, the voting age was reduced to 16 years.
St Clement is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Its parish hall is around 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) south-east of St Helier. The parish has a population of 9,221 and is the second most densely populated.
St John is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey and is around 7.3 kilometres (4.5 mi) north of St Helier on the north coast of the island. It has a surface area of 8.7 km2. St John's Village is also the name of the main village in the parish.
A vingtaine is a political subdivision of Jersey. They are subdivisions of the various parishes of Jersey, and one, La Vingtaine de la Ville, in Saint Helier is further divided into two cantons.
The parishes of Jersey are the civil and religious administrative districts of Jersey in the Channel Islands. All have access to the sea and share a name with their ancient parish churches. The parishes and roles within them are based on ancient Jersey law, drawing from the Norman customary law system. As such, many of the parish roles and structures have often been ill-defined.
The States Assembly is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes.
Connétables or constables are the civic heads of the twelve parishes of Jersey and ten parishes of Guernsey. The Connétable is grounded in Norman customary law. The structure, powers and responsibilities of the role differ between the islands, reflecting their different political histories.
Vingtaine du Rouge Bouillon is one of the six vingtaines of St Helier in Jersey, Channel Islands.
The Vingtaine du Mont à l'Abbé is one of six vingtaines of the Parish of Saint Helier in the Channel Island of Jersey.
Vingtaine du Mont Cochon is one of the six vingtaines of the Parish of St. Helier, in the Channel Island of Jersey. It is close to St Lawrence.
In Jersey, the Roads Committee is the highway authority for Parish roads in each Parish. In accordance with the Loi (1914) sur la Voirie it superintends the repair and maintenance of by-roads in the Parish, establishes boundary stones, issues Choses Publiques licenses, examines planning applications that fall within its responsibilities, supervises refuse collection, adjudicates fines during the Visite du Branchage, and proposes new road names, as may be necessary, for approval by the Parish Assembly. The Connétable presides over the Roads Committee which also includes the Rector and three Principals of the Parish [five Principals for St Helier] elected for a term of three years by the Parish Assembly.
A Procureur du Bien Public is the legal and financial representative of a parish in Jersey. Procureurs are elected for a term of three years.
A Parish Assembly in Jersey is the decision-making body of local government, comprising ratepayers and electors of the parish.
A Visite du Branchage is an inspection of roads in Jersey and Guernsey to ensure property owners have complied with the laws against vegetation encroaching onto the road.
There is an Honorary Police force in each of the twelve parishes of Jersey. Members of the Honorary Police are elected by the voters of the parish in which they serve, and are unpaid.
General elections were held in Jersey on 19 October 2011 to elect 45 members of the States Assembly. This was the first time Senators, Deputies and Constables were elected on a single day in Jersey. The number of members of the States of Jersey was reduced from 53 to 51. Six Senators who had been elected in 2008 for a period of six years did not face election in 2011.
Vingtaine de Faldouet is one of the five vingtaines of St Martin in the Channel Island of Jersey. The vingtaine is situated in the north-east of the parish, bordering the coast.
Vingtaine du Fief de la Reine is one of the five vingtaines of St Martin in the Channel Island of Jersey. The Vingtenier du Fief de la Reine is currently Mr D West as enrolled through the Honorary Police of St Martin. The Connétable of St Martin is Ms K Shenton Stone, as elected unopposed in the 2018 Jersey General Election. In Jerriais, the vingtaine is known as La Vîngtaine du Fief du Rouai.
The Bailiwick of Jersey has an unwritten constitution arising from the Treaty of Paris (1259). When Henry III and the King of France came to terms over the Duchy of Normandy, the Norman mainland the suzerainty of the King of France. The Channel Islands however remained loyal to the British crown due to the loyalties of its Seigneurs. But they were never absorbed into the Kingdom of England by any Act of Union and exist as "peculiars of the Crown".
