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A former Deputy Chief Minister running for the island's top political job has said he believes the next Council of Ministers should be "more representative of the States Assembly" – and that is likely to mean including members of Reform Jersey.
Speaking to Express this morning, Deputy Lyndon Farnham revealed that he had spoken to the other candidates for Chief Minister – Reform Jersey leader Sam Mézec and current Treasury Minister Deputy Ian Gorst – and would be happy to work with either, should his campaign be unsuccessful.
"We have to forget personal grievances and wipe the slate clean," he said. "A new Chief Minister has to compile their Council of Ministers based on ability and experience."
Previous Chief Minister John Le Fondré came under scrutiny for signing a deal with the party in exchange for their support. Deputy Mézec served in the Council of Ministers as Children and Housing Minister, while other Deputies in the party took Assistant Ministerial roles, before stepping down to support the vote of no confidence in the then-Chief Minister.
Deputy Farnham stressed that no alliances or deals had been made to secure ministerial seats for Reform Jersey.
However, he said: "We do need a change.
"We certainly don't want to see a large part of the last government with the same vision. It would be sensible to put together a government that's more representative of the States Assembly."
This could well mean including some members of the previous Government, and some members of Reform Jersey.
"I don't think it’s unreasonable that members of Reform should have a seat in the next government," Deputy Farnham said.
He said he had been speaking to members of the public and of the States Assembly, discussing his vision for Government and gathering supporters, and encouraged members of the public to contact him to seek his views.
The vote for Chief Minister will be taking place this Thursday.
While the vote will only involve States Members, Reform Jersey's candidate for Chief Minister is due to make his case to the public tomorrow night.
Deputy Sam Mézec will be hosting a public hustings event in the St Helier Town Hall at 19:00, outlining his vision for Jersey's Government, followed by a Q&A session.
The Deputy for St Helier South and leader of the 10-member-strong party also held a drop-in session at The Butterfly Café over the weekend.
He announced he was running for Chief Minister last week, following Deputy Tom Binet's successful no-confidence vote, pledging in his vision statement to tweak the current strategies to align with policies in Reform's 'New Deal' manifesto.
I’ll be at the Town Hall tomorrow evening from 7pm for a public hustings event. pic.twitter.com/1Lt4CqV829
— Deputy Sam Mézec (@SamMezecJsy) January 22, 2024
The other two candidates for Chief Minister have not announced any public hustings events.
Deputy Ian Gorst, who has the backing of outgoing Chief Minister Kristina Moore, was not immediately available when contacted this morning.
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