Education Minister not seeking re-election

Tuesday 10 April 2018

Education Minister Deputy Rob Bryans – who was recently cleared of misconduct by the Commissioner for Standards - won’t be seeking re-election.

In a statement, the Deputy says: “I will be sorry to leave the assembly at this point as I believe there will be some fundamental changes in the future government and it would be interesting to be at the heart of the decision making but my time has passed and there are other opportunities I now wish to pursue.”

He goes on to say: “Two weeks ago to the day I became 65. Days later my second grandchild arrived with a third soon to appear. It is time for me to spend more time with my lovely family who have been extremely supportive of me during these last turbulent few months.”

His departure comes after seven years of service. Deputy Bryans was first elected as Deputy of St. Helier in 2011, then later in 2014. During his time as a member of the States Assembly, he has worked on securing a higher education grant scheme for the island's university undergraduates in his role as Minister for Education, and has also enjoyed membership of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Pictured: The Education Minister worked on resolving the issue of financing the island's students throughout university.

His decision to step down comes after he was officially cleared of misconduct, following claims that he was "overly familiar" in his interactions with female staff in the Education Department, and that he had unzipped a fellow Minister's dress and commented on the colour of her underwear.

The Deputy denied the claim and explained that he noticed that her dress was undone at the top, so he pulled the zip up. He told the Commissioner for Standards, who was investigating the allegations that “he might have made a comment or joke, but he simply couldn’t remember."

In his report, the Commissioner commented on the “conflicting accounts” of the situation, but stated that he was satisfied with the explanation that Deputy Bryans “merely pulled her zip up.” “I have no direct evidence to suggest that Deputy Bryans acted in an inappropriate manner," he concluded.

The Deputy makes no reference to the incident or the Commissioner’s findings in his resignation letter.

He is now the sixth Minister to announce his departure from politics after serving under Chief Minister Senator Ian Gorst's leadership. The Health Minister announced that he would not seek re-election yesterday, which came after the Ministers for Infrastructure, Housing, Treasury, and External Relations had also done so.