'All talk and no action' prompts Minister not to stand again

Wednesday 22 November 2017

Too much talk and not enough action was one of the factors behind a senior Minister’s decision not to seek re-election next year.

Minister for Infrastructure, Eddie Noel, who holds the seat of Deputy in St Lawrence, has announced that he intends to bring his States career of almost a decade to a close next year.

He is the first sitting States Member to confirm that he definitely won’t be standing in the May 2018 elections.

Deputy Noel shared the news in a letter to his parishioners last week in his parish magazine, which he said was done to give possible candidates enough time to decide whether to contest the vacant seat.

Kevin, unfortunately you are not wrong, all too often it is as you describe, fortunately it's not like that all the time but it is too frequently, One of the reasons I'm steeping down in May next year, too much delay not enough action https://t.co/4oD2v8IZl7

— eddie noel (@edwardjnoel) November 16, 2017

He explained to Express that his decision had been a combination of factors - returning to a ‘normal’ family life had been a key reason, as well as frustrations at the pace of decision-making amongst his fellow States Members and a tendency amongst some to favour popularity over action. “I believe in getting things done, not just talking about getting things done,” he wrote in his article.

Entitled ‘Time for a change’, Deputy Noel’s piece reflected on the “honour” of representing St Lawrence and his achievements while in office, as well as his reasons for departing the Assembly.

“I am truly grateful for the support I have received from Parishioners whilst trying my hardest to serve to the best of my abilities. However, I could not have served the Parish, and indeed the Island, without the support of my family and friends and in particular my wife, Sandra, who has had to endure the not so good moments about public life here in Jersey. I chose to be a politician; she did not choose to be the far “better half” of a politician!"

Over the course of his nine-and-a-half years in the States, Deputy Noel has taken several frontline roles in the States, including Assistant Ministerial roles within the Health and Treasury Departments prior to his current position in the Infrastructure Department.

Pictured: During his time as Minister for Infrastructure, Deputy Noel made significant changes to the taxi-cab industry, and saw through a cycle path at St Peter's Valley.

He listed his key accomplishments, however, as being from his most recent service as Minister for Infrastructure. These included the St Peter’s Valley cycle path, and legacy issues such as “safely sorting out the asbestos shipping containers, the exportation of ash from our Energy from Waste plant, road safety issues at Rue des Pres and of course taxi-cab reform to name a few.”

Nonetheless, he acknowledged the difficulty of balancing public opinion with decisiveness over contentious issues, adding: “Politics is not about being popular and my various roles in Health, Treasury and Infrastructure have brought many challenges which required careful consideration and ultimately difficult decisions.”

He added that helping the parish community had been “a very important and enjoyable part of my work.”

“Over the years, I have enjoyed helping out at our Christmas fares, Liberation Day tea parties, plus attending Parish events and Assemblies. Taking an active role in our Community centre, youth club and our Battle of Flowers Association has given me much pleasure and many good friends…

“Above all, I leave politics with a desire to continue to put more into our community than I take out.”