Farage nabs Reform name

Tuesday 12 January 2021

Their politics might be very different, but Jersey's only political party now shares a name with Nigel Farage's former Brexit Party.

The Eurosceptic political collective was given permission by the Electoral Commission to change its brand to 'Reform UK' last week.

Asked if Reform Jersey had considered a change to avoid comparison or confusion with the new Reform UK, leader Senator Sam Mézec said there had been “no discussion about it whatsoever.”

He added that he thought the UK party would be short-lived regardless: “I suspect that Reform UK will figure out their main founding policy was on Brexit, and that the country’s moved on from that now."

Senator Mézec further expressed his disdain that Reform UK's main policy "now appears to be to reject the science on covid-19 and lockdown.”

Pictured: The party recently branded itself the 'official opposition' in the States Assembly.

In contrast, he said of Reform Jersey, which has five sitting States Members: “We’re an established party on Jersey’s scene, we’re not going anywhere, and we’re just looking forward to the next election, and going forward to serve the community," emphasising that they would not be "getting distracted" by the names of UK parties.

In November, following Senator Mézec’s resignation from his role as Minister for Children and Housing, the party announced plans to become an official opposition in the States Assembly.

Each of the party's five sitting States Members has taken on a 'shadow' portfolio, with Senator Mézec acting as 'Leader of the Opposition'. 

Urgh, dammit! https://t.co/t0fyX4FKMm

— Senator Sam Mézec (@SamMezecJsy) January 6, 2021

One the party’s latest actions has been its criticism of the Government response to school returns, with Education lead Deputy Rob Ward writing to the Chief Minister to push for a further two weeks to assess the situation instead of returning this week.