Housing action and Jersey uni on the agenda for St. Helier candidate

Wednesday 06 April 2022

A 29-year-old, who says he will seek to introduce extra stamp duty for second home buyers and a new open market first-time buyer scheme if elected, is hoping to become a Deputy in St. Helier.

First Tower Community Association member Max Andrews is standing in the newly-created ‘North’ district, which expands the former St. Helier 3/4 electorate.

Not aligned to any party, Mr Andrews is a Politics, Philosophy and Economics student who has worked in health and finance. He describes himself as a “social democrat”.

He says he would like to see “alternative options to zero-ten taxation” to remedy what he sees as an “over-reliance on personal income taxation”.

He also supports introducing the Living Wage across the island, making pre-school hours free to help working parents, and give retirees access to a home carer’s allowance.

Describing Jersey’s housing market as “in a position of partial market failure where there is insufficient housing and disproportionate house prices”, Mr Andrews says an open market HomeBuyer scheme for new market developments “needs to be introduced to assist first-time buyers access home ownership”, Mr Andrews says.

 If elected, he said he would also “week to introduce a 3% stamp duty surcharge upon the purchase of a second or additional property to constrain demand.”

When it comes to planning and development, the North of St. Helier also must be “protected from suburban sprawl”, according to Mr Andrews.

Turning to education and skills, Mr Andrews would like to see a focus on re-skilling islanders to prepare for potential unemployment as more services become automated and believes the island needs its own university campus to encourage graduates into the local jobs market and “reduce over-reliance on external expertise”. 

A supporter of a points-based immigration system, Mr Andrews said he also believes the island must ensure “permits are granted to support businesses where labour shortages exist”. 

He would also like to see better maintenance of public property to prevent its value declining. 

Jersey’s election will be taking place on 22 June.