‘Royal’ brother and sister duo enter the States Assembly

Thursday 23 June 2022

Former Jersey Royal Company owners Rose and Tom Binet are believed to be only the second ever brother and sister States Members to serve at the same time.

In the 1990s, St. Ouen Constable Arthur Quérée served at the same time as his sister, Enid Quenault (mother of Anne Pryke, who later became Health Minister), who was Constable of St. Brelade.

Their father had previously served as Deputy of St. Ouen. 

In this year's election, Tom Binet stood in St. Saviour, where he topped the poll with 1,541 votes.

He has always lived in the parish and attended St. Saviour’s primary school and Hautlieu. As well as building his prominent agricultural business alongside his sister, Mr Binet served as Chairof the Jersey Schizophrenia Fellowship, and recently co-founded the charity Focus on Mental Illness.  

He also chaired assisted dying campaign group End of Life Choices, and is a member of the group, Friends of our New Hospital, which opposes the current plan. 

Video: Mr Binet’s campaign video.

Mr Binet’s priorities, he said, would be reforming the current system of government and improving accountability; accelerating the release of public-owned land for development and revising the high-value-residency policy. 

He would also like to see an island-wide mandate, Senators, reintroduced at the 2026 election. 

Rose Binet, who is a co-founder and trustee of Focus on Mental Illness, took third place in the newly-created district of Grouville and St. Martin, with 1,481 votes.

Video: Ms Binet’s campaign video. 

Her priorities broadly echo those of her brother. Ms Binet also specifically wants to ensure Samarès Ward remains open for stroke and head injury victims, and wants the government to investigate how to facilitate recruitment of doctors, nurses and care workers by providing better housing and remuneration.