WATCH: Leadership changes in Reform Jersey party

Friday 21 June 2019

Reform Jersey members have voted in favour of a major change to their party's leadership structure, electing former political hopeful Lyndsey Feltham to the role of Chairperson.

Senator Sam Mézec, who previously held a dual role, will now be 'Party Leader', a solely political function.

It's the first time the party has had a dedicated chairperson since its creation.

The decision to split the roles was taken after the last election, along with the decision to not allow States Members to be Chairperson.

The party said the creation of the two roles separates political leadership from party administration, while also supporting organisational growth and provides democratic accountability.

As a result of the changes, Senator Sam Mézec was not able to carry on as the party chairman but put his name forward to become its Leader during the Party AGM.

We are pleased to announce that @lyndsayfeltham was elected as our party Chairperson at our AGM last night. She is the first non-States Member to serve in this role.

Senator Sam Mézec has been elected to the new role of party Leader.#WorkingForAFairerIsland #TeamWork pic.twitter.com/nMsUkXnX88

— Reform Jersey (@ReformJersey) June 21, 2019

Senator Mézec said: "I am pleased to have been elected to lead the Parliamentary Party and serve as Reform Jersey’s political figurehead. I, along with the Party’s four other elected States Members [Deputy Geoff Southern, Deputy Montfort Tadier, Deputy Carina Alves and Deputy Rob Ward, ed.], will continue working to deliver real outcomes in line with our manifesto and election pledges. 

"We have achieved a lot over the past year, but still have a lot of work to do as this governmentterm continues.As a group, we remain the only members of the States Assembly with a published Manifesto, which clearly states our policies and aims for this term of office."

Lyndsay Feltham - who stood as a Reform Jersey candidate in the 2019 by-election for Deputy of St. Helier districts 3 and 4 and came second in the poll - was elected as Chairperson, a role she said she was delighted to take on.

"I am looking forward to engaging with the Party membership to strengthen the organisation and working in partnership with Senator Mézec to ensure that party members continue to be at the heart of decision making," she added. "The focus for the coming year will be increasing party membership and connecting with community groups."