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Starting a scheme to provide free dental services for children, reviewing the new electoral system and agreeing a national anthem for the island are all goals of the Jersey Alliance.
The party's 65-page manifesto was released this week, alongside confirmation that the party will be seeking a seat in each of the island's nine districts.
The key commitments in the Alliance manifesto include plans to increase housing supply and help people to pay for housing by income support and expanded schemes to help first-time buyers, as well as ensuring that islanders have access to affordable first-class healthcare.
Pictured: Jersey Alliance Party Leader, Sir Mark Boleat, speaking at the manifesto launch this week.
The party also pledges to maintain both the low tax policy that Jersey has become known for and the tax thresholds which mean that many lower-income earners pay no income tax. There are plans to increase the total tax contribution required from new high value residents, alongside reducing reliance on net inward migration by strict controls on the ability of people to work and buy property in Jersey and promoting measures to increase that productivity of the resident population.
Jersey Alliance outline their plans to address the housing problem by tackling it from both sides of the supply and demand chain to help people meet housing costs.
In order to increase supply, the manifesto outlines plans to relax requirements for car parking spaces and height restrictions, release surplus government-owned land, remove constraints on the Jersey Development Company requiring pre-sales before it can commence construction, and increase Andium’s programme from 3,000 new affordable units to 5,000 by 2030.
The Alliance party suggest that the demand should be constrained by strict enforcement of population policies so only people who are residentially qualified or who make a demonstrable beneficial contribution to the Island are able to buy or rent housing.
The manifesto also suggests that rent policy for social rented housing should ensure that rents do not exceed 80% of market rents, and that the recommendations of the Jersey Homelessness Strategic Board should be implemented in full.
In terms of healthcare, Jersey Alliance’s main objective is to ensure that the people of Jersey have access to affordable first-class healthcare. It is noted in their manifesto that Jersey is a long way from meeting the “first-class test”, particularly in respect of mental health, dental care and long-term care.
The manifesto outlines the need for changes to existing arrangements in these areas, and specific plans to introduce an insurance-based scheme to provide free dentistry services for children.
Pictured - left to right: Jersey Alliance election candidates Phil Romeril, James Corbett, Rowland Heulin, Jo Luce, Lindsay Ash, John Le Fondré, Mary O'Keeffe, Gregory Guida, Sir Mark Boleat, Philip Le Claire, Chris Tanguy and Ted Vibert.
They also speak of the need to keep the hospital project under continuous review and ensure tight control on the £804 million budget, with opportunities for cost savings pursued.
Jersey Alliance's manifesto expresses a wish to benchmark local attainment levels against international standards and comparable jurisdictions in order to ensure world-class education which is vital to maintaining future success in an increasingly competitive global environment.
They pledge to expand early-years provision in line with the recommendations of the Early Years Policy Development Board, particularly in non-fee-paying St Helier primary schools. Alliance also want to focus on providing teachers with resources to cover Jersey-specific education topics.
The manifesto also outlines plans to be more ambitious in respect of further and higher education, as well as lifelong learning. This would be achieved with the establishment of a modern further education campus which could also be the home for a specialist centre of a leading university.
The Alliance party also wants to abolish the arbitrary asset test for student grants and remove the limitation on funding for bursaries for postgraduate courses.
The basis for Jersey Alliance's policy on the economy is based on the recommendations in the report of the members of Jersey’s Economic Council.
This includes a focus on ensuring that the prosperity of the finance industry continues by adapting to the changing circumstances of the modern world. Jersey Alliance plans to promote an entrepreneurial culture which embraces the importance of the “new economy”, being created globally through technology, artificial intelligence and data.
Pictured: Candidate Phil Romeril at the manifesto launch.
However, the manifesto also considers the importance of the farming, hospitality, and creative industries which stretches much beyond their economic impact and pledges to support this accordingly.
They also promise to ensure the maintenance of vital air and sea links.
The Jersey Alliance say they are committed to maintaining the low tax policy in Jersey, but plan to increase the total tax contribution required from new high value residents. They pledge to maintain the long-standing practice of financing current expenditure from current revenue and holding significant reserves. They also wish to maintain high tax thresholds such that many income earners pay no income tax, and maintain a low-rate broad-based GST.
In addition, they say they want to reduce reliance on net inward migration by strict controls on the ability of people to work and buy property in Jersey and promoting measures to increase that productivity of the resident population.
In their manifesto, Jersey Alliance say they want to use culture and sport to strengthen health and wellbeing, as well as enhancing the reputation of the island by supporting high-performing sports teams and individuals. They also pledge to speed up the process of creating modern fit-for-purpose sports facilities, and ensure that schools, particularly those with a concentration of children from low-income families, have the equipment and facilities that they need.
Pictured: Jersey Alliance candidates Rowland Heulin and Jo Luce at the manifesto launch.
Alliance also pledges to support initiatives in this industry which are accessible and affordable, encourage more people to participate, promote enjoyment and mental wellbeing, increase economic prosperity, and enhance the reputation of the Island.
They also say they will prioritise the renovation of the Opera House, alongside exploring possibilities for other initiatives that bring more art and culture to the island – recalling the success of Bergerac.
The manifesto pledges to support the designation of a Marine Park, and ensure that all the costs and benefits of proposed developments are considered together and, where appropriate, secure environmental improvements as a condition of getting planning permission.
The manifesto also focuses on promoting the merits of “blue carbon capture” as a means of combatting the effects of climate change.
If voted in, the Jersey Alliance party pledges says it will review how the new electoral arrangements are working including whether an Island-wide mandate should be reintroduced, the number of members of the States Assembly and the size of electoral districts.
They also want to maintain the role of the parishes and the status of the Connétables, as well as reducing the use of UK consultants in favour of local expertise in order to ensure that local people take a much higher proportion of senior government positions.
Pictured: Some of the Jersey Alliance candidates standing in the forthcoming election.
The party say they're also committed to promoting the island's identity - that includes looking at instituting a 'Jersey Studies' course for newcomers to the island, designing a Jersey emblem for use by sports teams, and installing a new series of heritage plaques around the island.
The party also want the island to agree a national anthem.
"A nation must have an agreed national anthem. Jersey does not. Island Home, Beautiful Jersey and Ma Normandie are all used. This issue should be settled though a properly structured public consultation," the manifesto states.
“The Jersey Alliance Party has listened carefully to what people want from a new government. They told us that they wish to maintain the key characteristics of Jersey – its links with the Crown, the role of the parishes, low taxes supported by a thriving business sector, and the protection of our Island’s beautiful environment," Sir Mark Boleat commented.
“But they also want to see significant improvements – in respect of housing, educational standards and healthcare in particular. The Alliance Party has robust evidence-based policies that can deliver the necessary improvements.”
In relation to their decision to contest all nine constituencies in the June election, Sir Mark said: “The decision to do away with the island-wide mandate and introduce multi-parish constituencies for eight of the 12 parishes has not gone down well with the electorate.
“The Alliance is committed to reviewing the arrangements, with a proper consultation. But it has also decided to field candidates in all nine of the new constituencies so that every elector will have the chance to express their view on our policies and our team.
“We alone have the team and the policies that the whole island needs.”
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