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A new party mostly made up politicians already in Government - who want to stay in Government and finish off carrying out their vision - officially launched yesterday.
In a speech setting out the centre-right Jersey Alliance's aims, Party Chair Deputy Gregory Guida confirmed: "Our manifesto is the Government Plan - it's what we are doing already."
He explained that the current Government had formed in the middle of several crises of a magnitude not seen since the war, lauding it for still having "the courage" to tackle all the additional work that needed to be done, naming the Our Hospital project, Brexit and the Fort Regent project, and said that members of the party were keen to be able to finish off what the Government had started.
Pictured: Deputy Gregory Guida, Chair, speaking at the launch of the Jersey Alliance.
In addition to Deputy Guida, the founders of the party are Deputies Rowland Huelin (Treasurer) and Lindsay Ash (Membership Secretary), as well as former St. Saviour election candidate Mary O'Keeffe, who is the Party Secretary.
As previously reported by Express, the Chief Minister is among the group's members, alongside Assistant Chief Minister Constable Richard Buchanan, Treasury Minister Deputy Susie Pinel, Education Minister Deputy Scott Wickenden, and Social Security Minister Deputy Judy Martin. Trinity Constable Philip Le Sueur is also a member.
In a speech, Deputy Lindsay Ash (Members' Secretary) revealed that he had spoken to the Progress Party about forming a party before the Jersey Alliance came about, but didn't feel there were the right "synergies".
Pictured: Deputy Lindsay Ash said he didn't have the right "synergies" with Progress, which is run by sitting States Members Senator Steve Pallett and Deputy Steve Luce.
He said he wanted to see the party gain an overall majority, and would be putting up enough candidates to achieve this.
This was reiterated by Ms O'Keeffe, who said new members would be welcome to discuss and plan with the party. She said the group of veterans and new politicians wanted to expand "quickly, but strategically" and promised a crop of fresh faces would be revealed very soon.
Until the next election, the party said islanders would see little tangible change in how they operate in the current Council of Ministers and States Assembly.
"We were elected as independents and we will continue until the next election," Treasurer Rowland Huelin said in response to questions from Express.
Asked whether their union politicised this year's release of the 2022-2025 Government Plan, Chair Gregory Guida did not put up a rebuttal, but reminded that not all current members of Government were part of the party and had all had an input.
The group said they had approached other Ministers and, so far, none had "categorically rule out" joining them in their mission to achieve a majority.
Pictured: The Jersey Alliance logo.
Overall, the party members said they were bound by their shared values about island life.
Their website notes: "The members of the Jersey Alliance believe in protecting Jersey’s uniqueness, our own language and culture. It hopes to improve the collaboration between the Crown Dependencies but to also turn further towards our neighbours Brittany and Normandy. We want to keep the independence of the Parishes and foster our unique honorary services, maintain the Bailiff as head of the States and speaker of the Chamber and promote and maintain a Strong Parish System and Links. The Jersey Alliance believes that a carefully managed population control is vital to retain Jersey’s open spaces and quality of life."
They said they planned to reveal their full vision later this year, and will be electing their Chief Minister at the party's annual conference.
Ms O'Keeffe said their future ambitions would be "realistic and achievable" and would aim to avoid "populism and demagoguery."
The Jersey Alliance is the third right-wing political group to launch this year, alongside the Progress Party and the Jersey Liberal Conservatives, which are not currently a party and describe themselves as a "movement." Reform Jersey is the only party on the left.
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Ministers unite to create 'Jersey Alliance'
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