Issue 1 Reform party newsletter July 2017

Welcome to the Jersey Democrat! By Deputy Sam Mézec _ The people of Jersey are currently landers. [email protected] being let down by a Council of Ministers We are on your side and we pledge which shows itself to be more out of to work hard to earn your trust and sup- Reform Jersey is proud to launch the touch and incompetent as each day port. Through the pages of this news- first edition of our new monthly news- goes by. letter, we hope to inform you of how we letter - The Jersey Democrat! Whether it is their failure to get a are standing up for your interests. We hope to use this newsletter to grip on population control, find an ap- There is a huge amount to do in the keep you up to date on the political sce- propriate way to fund the building of next year whilst we prepare for our elec- ne in the Island and provide some pro- the new hospital, or the lack of progress tion campaign. We can’t do it all by our- gressive-leaning commentary on current on higher education funding reform, it is selves and will value any help or support affairs, provided by our guest contribu- clear that the current government is not that you can offer, from donations and tors. working. volunteering, to offering to stand as a With the next general election less But worst of all, this government candidate in the than a year away, now more than ever has spearheaded policies which have election. the Island needs a publication which is seen Jersey become a more unequal not only not afraid to be critical of the society, with poverty levels rising to lev- Together, I am -led Council of Ministers, but els which are worse than the UK. certain we will which will unashamedly stand by its own We in Reform Jersey want to see a succeed. values and belief that Jersey should and democratic States of Jersey which gov- could be an Island of opportunity for all erns in the interests of ordinary working who live here and where the poorest Islanders, rather than simply pandering and most vulnerable are protected. to a small number of very wealthy Is- Inside Stories Ian Gorst survives Why the Jersey Majority of taxpayers Electoral reform the Vote of No Democrat? better off under scuppered by States Confidence Reform Jersey ‘turkeys’

facebook.com/ReformJersey twitter.com/ReformJersey Published by -

2 July 2017 Chief Minister Senator Ian Gorst How they voted - Pour Contre survives Vote of No Confidence Senator Sarah Ferguson Senator Paul Routier After a long debate, the States As- tant Minister, in a last ditch attempt Constable Sadie Rennard (St Saviour) Senator Philip Ozouf Constable Chris Taylor (St John) Senator Alan Maclean sembly has voted 13-34 to retain to save his own skin by throwing his Deputy (St Helier) Senator Ian Gorst Ian Gorst as Chief Minister of Jer- most loyal colleague under a bus. Deputy John Le Fondré (St Lawrence) Senator Lyndon Farnham sey, despite many members ex- This tactic was to prove suc- Deputy Kevin Lewis (St Saviour) Senator pressing serious concerns about the cessful, with those formerly re- Deputy Montfort Tadier (St Brelade) Senator Andrew Green conduct of Ministers behind the volting Ministers then lining up to Deputy Tracey Vallois (St John) Constable Simon Crowcroft (St Helier) scenes and growing dissatisfaction speak in support of the Chief Minis- Deputy Mike Higgins (St Helier) Constable Len Norman (St Clement) from both inside and outside the ter, seemingly unconcerned by the Deputy Jeremy Maçon (St Saviour) Constable John Refault (St Peter) States. knives still lodged in their backs. Deputy Sam Mézec (St Helier) Constable Deidre Mezbourian (St Lawrence) There had been months of Reform Jersey deputies spoke Deputy Simon Bree (St Clement) Constable Juliette Gallichan (St Mary) Deputy Terry McDonald (St Saviour) Constable Michael Paddock (St Ouen) speculation that the Treasury Minis- in the debate and listed their con- Constable Steve Pallett (St Brelade) ter, Senator Alan Maclean, and the cerns about the leadership of Ian Constable Michel Le Troquer (St Martin)

Economic Development Minister, Gorst, from his record of increasing Not present for the vote - Constable John Le Maistre (Grouville)

Senator Lyndon Farnham, were levels of poverty in Jersey and mis- Deputy Judy Martin (St Helier) Constable Philip Le Sueur (Trinity) furious at the way the Chief Minis- leading the States about it, to the Deputy Louise Doublet (St Saviour) Deputy Carolyn Labey (Grouville) ter had publicly criticised their role incompetence shown over the Deputy Jacky Hilton (St Helier) in the Jersey Innovation Fund scan- funding for the new hospital. Deputy Anne Pryke (Trinity) dal where up to £1.4m of taxpayers Within hours of the debate, Deputy Eddie Noel (St Lawrence) money has been wasted, whilst at before the dust had even settled, Deputy Susie Pinel (St Clement) Deputy Steve Luce (St Martin) the same time claiming that his As- the Chief Minister appeared on BBC Deputy Rod Bryans (St Helier) sistant Minister, Senator Philip Radio Jersey, indicating his wish to Deputy (St Peter) Ozouf, had somehow been exoner- bring Senator Ozouf back into gov- Deputy Richard Rondel (St Helier) ated. Rumours were circulating that ernment as soon as possible. Deputy Andrew Lewis (St Helier) those Ministers were preparing to The Chief Minister’s position Deputy Richard Renouf (St Ouen) resign if Senator Ozouf remained in had seemed secured, but unrest Deputy Russell Labey (St Helier) government. continues to grow and the likeli- Deputy Scott Wickenden (St Helier) On the morning of the debate, hood that the Council of Ministers Deputy Murray Norton (St Brelade) the Chief Minister announced that enters the next election campaign Deputy David Johnson (St Mary) Deputy Graham Truscott (St Brelade) Ozouf had been sacked as an Assis- divided increases. Deputy Peter McLinton (St Saviour) Reform Jersey continues to stand up for Jersey’s care workers Following the decision by the Health ment contracts, Reform Jersey has been Minister, Senator Andrew Green, to forced to bring a proposition to the floor slash funding for the much valued Fami- of the Assembly to seek support for the ly Nursing Home Care service, Reform introduction of a “Jersey Ethical Care Jersey deputies have continued to put Charter”. pressure on the Minister to intervene to At the States sitting on Tuesday 4th protect the jobs of care workers so that July, Reform Jersey vice-chairman Depu- standards of care for their patients can ty Geoff Southern will be making this zero-hours contracts and unpaid travel be maintained. proposition. time, as well as introducing procedures However, after facing several weeks This charter seeks to ensure that to allow carers to raise concerns about of States questions with the Minister those who provide care are given a basic their clients’ well-being. arrogantly dismissing any assertion that standard of working terms and condi- Will the Council of Ministers accept he has a responsibility to ensure basic tions which will enable them to work Reform Jersey’s call to take action or standards are maintained in employ- appropriate shift lengths, end the use of continue to give platitudes instead? Published by Reform Jersey

3 July 2017 Majority of taxpayers better off under Reform Jersey To mark one year until the 2018 general landers paying more tax to support a extra demand as higher education be- election, on 16th May Reform Jersey policy which will only benefit the few. comes more accessible for young peo- published its ambitious plans for In- In stark contrast to this claim, the ple in Jersey who are currently unable come Tax reform and Higher Education reality is that the States of Jersey Treas- to afford it. funding. ury Department themselves have con- This policy aims to support the am- Reform Jersey has pledged to sim- firmed that the changes would see few- bitions outlined in recent months by plify Jersey’s Income Tax code to place er that 10% of Islanders, the very business leaders who expressed con- all taxpayers on the same tax calcula- wealthiest, pay more, whilst 65% of cerns about the growing skills gap in tion, reduce the rate of tax from 26% to Islanders (mostly in the squeezed mid- Jersey and the demand it inevitably 25% and allow all taxpayers to claim tax dle) will see a tax cut. creates for extra immigration. allowances. Every Islander who currently re- By reducing the tax burden on mid- With the £6m revenue raised from ceives an ITIS slip which confirms an dle earners and supporting all young this tax change, the party has pledged effective tax rate below 20%, will see people to achieve their educational to uprate the grants for university tui- their tax rate go down under these ambitions, Reform Jersey is confident tion fees to cover the entire cost of tui- changes. that the Island will see clear economic tion for every student, whilst introduc- The States of Jersey Education De- and social benefits. ing a loan scheme for living costs. partment has confirmed that the cost of This policy is part inspired by the Predictably, opponents of Reform fully covering university tuition fees example set by the government of Gi- Jersey have used the pages of the Jer- would have been £4.3m this year, braltar who, since 1988, have fully fund- sey Evening Post and social media to meaning the policy contains an in-built ed the costs of university tuition and claim that these policies would see Is- surplus of £1.7m to cope with potential the livings costs of all of their students. Why ‘The Jersey Democrat’? Throughout Jersey’s history, Islanders sive taxation and a democratic electoral would be useful for the public. have often come together in the form of system. Such ideas were considered In many ways Reform Jersey sees political parties or campaign groups, to radical at the time, but are now consid- itself a successor organisation to those contest power or to seek important ered common sense. which came before it, and so it seemed changes to how Jersey is governed. Following the war, the Jersey Even- appropriate to name their newsletter It is not often recognised that Jersey ing Post refused to publish their mani- after the publication issued by the Jersey has a rich tradition of party politics, festo in their election coverage (even as Democratic Movement. stretching all the way back to 1771, a paid advert!) and urged their readers where the ‘Charlots’ and the ‘Maggots’ not to vote for the JDM. contested power, to the post-war era After many attempts to get elected, where the ironically-named ‘Jersey Pro- Norman Le Brocq was finally elected gressive Party’ and ‘Jersey Democratic Deputy in 1966 and became a highly Movement’ fiercely contested elections. respected champion for working class The Jersey Democratic Movement Islanders and played a crucial role in was formed in 1943 by future Deputy putting together the first ‘Island Plan’. Norman Le Brocq, whilst the Island The JDM produced a monthly news- suffered under Nazi occupation, to ac- letter from February 1945 called ‘the tively resist the occupation forces and Jersey Democrat’. Our thanks to the Jersey Archive for locating lay the groundwork for a post- They used this as an outlet to pro- copies of the original Jersey Democrat Occupation democratic Jersey. vide the public with the information that leaflets to provide inspiration. They illegally distributed their first was not being reported by the main- manifesto in 1943 which called for the stream media and to highlight the politi- introduction of a ’living wage’, progres- cal shenanigans and voting records that

Published by Reform Jersey

4 July 2017 Electoral reform attempt scuppered by States ‘turkeys’ A majority of States Members have re- matched Reform Jersey’s ambition for a claim that they supported electoral re- fused to put aside their self-interest and made up of just one form and fairness, but were prepared to have voted against modest reforms to category of States Member, elected in let another attempt to achieve both fail, Jersey’s electoral system, meaning the equal sized constituencies, each option for superficial reasons, some seemingly current system will remain in place, did see a fairer distribution of States more concerned about where polling unchanged for the next election. Members between the urban and coun- stations are based, than the quality of Two propositions came before the try Parishes, whilst making it more diffi- the voting system. Assembly to reform Jersey’s electoral cult for so many politicians to get elect- In the States Members’ tearoom system. The first was to implement the ed in uncontested elections. however, it was clear that many mem- winning option of the 2013 electoral Most importantly, both proposi- bers were worried about the prospect reform referendum “Option B” to retain tions saw an increase in representation of having to face robust elections, the Constables and elect Deputies in for St Helier to go some way to fixing where they have gotten by for years Parish-based super-constituencies ac- the underrepresentation that the Parish getting elected uncontested or only cording to population. has seen in the States for hundreds of challenged by political novices. The second was to retain the Sena- years. This made it all the more strange On the bright side, some stated tors and Constables and elect Deputies that four St Helier deputies voted they believed that Electoral Observers in super-constituencies. against their own constituents interests. in May next year will damn our system Whilst neither of these proposals The debate saw many members so badly, that change will be inevitable. Council of Ministers fails to reach it’s own population targets At the end of June, the States of Jersey Statistics Unit pub- Of those moving to the Island, 1,100 were ‘registered’ lished it’s estimates for population growth and net migration and likely to be undertaking low paid jobs (and therefore low for 2016, showing that the government’s own targets have tax-paying), in stark contrast to the Council of Ministers claim been missed for the 3rd year in a row. that population growth is essential to raise tax revenues to It was revealed that in 2016, net migration hit 1,300 peo- spend on public services. ple, despite the government’s target being just 325. This fol- The Council of Ministers had promised to publish a new lowed the 2015 figure of 1,500 and 2014’s 700. population policy by summer this year, yet have not done so. Policies • Reform our Income Tax code to reduce the tax burden on ‘Middle Jersey’, protect low earners and ask high earners to contribute more.

• Fully fund university tuition fees and introduce a student loan scheme for living expenses.

• Raise the minimum wage to £10 per hour by 2021.

• Introduce progressive rates of Social Security contributions for the self-employed.

• Raise maternity leave to 26 weeks. If you wish to join as a member of Reform Jersey, please ei- ther email our party secretary at [email protected] • Reform the composition of the States Assembly to have one with your contact details, or fill in the form online at - class of States Member, elected in equal sized constituen- cies where all voters have the same number of votes. www.reformjersey.je/join-the-party All members details are kept strictly confidential in line with Data Protection regulations.

Published by Reform Jersey