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A former Assistant Chief Minister and long-term ally of Kristina Moore has confirmed he will be voting to oust her from the top political job next week.
But, the Chief Minister appears to have just about won the support of the business community ahead of a vote which is expected to go "right down to the wire".
Deputy Moore will tomorrow face a vote of no confidence brought by her former Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet.
In an explosive report published on 2 January, which had the backing of three States Members, he accused her of a "complete lack of integrity" and "woeful lack of leadership skill".
Since then, Ministers have rallied around their Chief, expressing support for what she has achieved in her term.
However, a former Assistant Chief Minister has now announced that he had met with Deputy Moore on Saturday to tell her that he would not be supporting her.
In a short video posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday evening, Constable of St John Andy Jehan set out his position:
I have met with the CM today to inform her that I will not be supporting her next week and that I will be voting #Pour next Tuesday in the #VONC pic.twitter.com/KytsOVFXP9
— Andy Jehan ???????? (@AndyJehan) January 13, 2024
Video: Constable Andy Jehan confirmed his voting intentions in a short video this evening.
However, he did not reveal his reasons, saying he would share them during next week's debate.
It came just hours after Deputy Moore had shared her own video in which she set out her priorities for the weeks and months ahead, should the vote be unsuccessful.
She said: "[The VoNC] means that there’s lots of political manoeuvring going on, lots of talk about personalities, but I know that when you went to the polls you wanted to elect people who were going to deliver action, particularly in these challenging economic times."
The "achievements" of her Government so far, she continued, included increasing the minimum wage to £11.64, their investment in health and education, bringing down waiting lists and ensuring that there were no vacancies in primary schools at the start of the academic or calendar year.
"This is the stuff that really matters to people," she acded. "I know that there’s a lot more to do but if we can keep going I know that we can make this a community where everyone can thrive."
The council of ministers announced its priorities for the year ahead this week. These are backed by actions that we will deliver. Here are my reflections on current events. ???????? pic.twitter.com/9re5otEfQP
— Kristina Moore (@Moore4Jersey) January 13, 2024
Video: Kristina Moore made a bid to woo the public earlier today.
It came after she made a bid to win business leaders with a pledge to rein in a number of Government projects to save £30m earlier in the week.
Appearing before a sold-out Chamber of Commerce business lunch, Deputy Moore said that Ministers had this week "agreed to reduce the number of public sector projects", but did not provide details of which projects could be shelved to make these savings. Scrutiny politicians pressed her for answers in a letter sent the following day which is yet to receive a response.
Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce Murray Norton wrote to members about the vote in Chamber's weekly newsletter following her appearance.
He said he had been asked if he felt "the Chief Minister had done enough after the speech, to convince people that she was up to the job."
He continued: "At the end of the day, it matters not a jot whether I or other people are convinced or not - the vote is taken by the 49 States Members, who we elected. And by the way, not wishing to dodge the question, I think possibly yes, she did convince the larger proportion of the 250 who attended. Many of whom appeared to favour stability with a plan for action, rather than a change for action without a plan."
He added that despite the result, "one thing is certain though, this VONC has shaken things up, and whether it succeeds or not, that is no bad thing for some focus on delivering."
Last night, Deputy Chief and Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel took to LinkedIn to share his view, saying he feared "it is the people of Jersey who stand to lose the most when votes of confidence are called for reasons that really amount to a personal dislike and not much more".
"Why do I fear that it is islanders who lose out? Simply because, should a vote of confidence succeed in changing the CM, then a new government is likely to wipe work off the table, reviews and projects will be scrapped or newly reviewed and nothing will happen for months. Islanders, who constantly and rightly say that they just want the States to get on with things, will have a new government trying to find its feet and delivering very little," he continued.
"Governments are voted in for a four-year term, but if a CM and their govt is not given the chance to work through those four years, then it becomes impossible to achieve very much at all," he said.
Reform Jersey, with 10 members in the States, have also remained tight-lipped on whether they will be voting 'pour' tomorrow.
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Express recently spoke to Tom Binet for the Politics Disassembled podcast, why he was seeking to oust the Chief Minister – listen below or wherever you get your podcasts...
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