Assisted dying campaigner seeks Deputy seat

Friday 29 April 2022

A former agricultural businessman, who has gone on to become a mental health and assisted dying campaigner, is standing for election in St. Saviour.

Jersey-born Tom Binet said his decision to stand for Deputy followed four years of having been “deeply critical” of Government.

His career journey is rooted in agriculture, working across production, sales and processing, and establishing relationships with major UK supermarket chains.

That formed the basis of what became the Jersey Royal Company, for which he held the role of Managing Director from 2004 until the organisation was sold in 2014.

Mr Binet chairs the charity Focus on Mental Illness and assisted dying campaign group End of Life Choices, and has been a member of the Friends of Our New Hospital group.

He was previously Chair of the Jersey Schizophrenia Fellowship, and also served for four years on the Employment Forum.

If elected, he said he would seek to "clarify the relationship between Ministers and the civil service" and increase investment in frontline health staff and GP services, rein in the hospital project "both physically and financially".

Mr Binet said he would also like to accelerate the release of Government-owned sites for development, build local skills and reduce use of external consultants, raise the income tax threshold "to relieve more low earners" and improve the Jersey Complaints Board process, as well as revising the policy for accepting 'high-value resients'.

Finally, he wants to see the return of the island-wide mandate – Senators – in the 2026 election.

Jersey's election is taking place in June.