Welcome

Dear Reader

You have found your way to the new blogsite for Deputy Montfort Tadier.

As I prepare to publish my first 'proper' blog, I thought it would be useful to fill this space by telling you a little bit about myself, why I have started blogging and what you can expect from this site going forward.

I was elected as a deputy of St Brelade no. 2 in November 2008 and I work alongside Deputy Sean Power as one of the two deputies of the district, which comprises the vingtaines of Les Quennevais and La Moye (both schools which I attended).

I attended Hautlieu from 1993- 1997 and then went on to Study Modern Languages at Sheffield University. But before this starts to sound like too much of a CV (I can post that separately sometime) let's get onto the more interesting (and daunting) subject of blogging.

It is fair to say that whilst blogging is not a new phenomenon, it does very much remain in a primitive form in Jersey - dare I say like the politics of the island. And so, this is a very exciting time to be a blogger (and a politician).

The reasons I have resisted blogging so far are primarily two-fold:

the initial consideration was one of time. As you might rightly imagine, the demands on any States Member's time - even those without ministerial or scrutiny responsibilties - are great and so it was always a question of how and where to find the time. Secondly,whilst some are of the opinion that it is a sin for any serious states-person not to have a her own blogsite in this day and age, I always felt it much more unforgivable to have a blog and then not update it regularly. I did not simply wish to create a blog for the sake of it. To do so would be quite self-indulgent.

The reason I changed my mind? Well, partly due to local pressure, but also a growing realisation (which really came to fruition during my recent Westminster visit) that if one is to preach transparency, accountability and the virtues of being in touch with one's electorate, one should really act accordingly and make oneself as accessible as possible.

So in this respect, I see the blog as another tool for engaging with constituents. Blogs are not here to rival, but compliment other forms of communication, all of which are useful in engaging with the electorate.

And one last thing before I sign off for today: Do not expect this blog to conform to any particular concept that you have of other [local] blogs. The beauty of the web log is that each is fashioned in its own particular idiom. Naturally, many of the posts will be political in nature, some to do with islandwide issues, and many others to do with parish matters; but like all blogs, the content will reflect the personality of the author, so do not be surprised to posts on more general themes, ranging from the arts, music, environment and my thoughts on Andrew Marr's latest radio 4 episode of Start the Week (who incidentally had a very interesting guest in mathematician-cum-journalist Alex Bellows, author of the Alex's Adventures in Numberland - can't wait to read it!)