Reform Jersey is a

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

social-democratic Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, socia ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. In all general elections since 2014, Reform has won the most seats of any party in the

States Assembly The States Assembly (; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system of self-government according ...

. However, it has not won a

majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...

of seats in any general election due to the large number of independents in the Assembly. Reform was initially founded as a

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

in 2012 to campaign for electoral reform in the run up to the 2013 electoral reform referendum. It first stood candidates for election in the 2014 by-elections, where it won two seats. It officially registered as a political party in July 2014 to compete in the 2014 general election. Reform has gained seats in every subsequent general election, but has never won a majority. It was initially a junior

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

partner in the Le Fondré government, but left the coalition in November 2020 to support a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

against it. In January 2024, Reform returned to government following a vote of no confidence in Kristina Moore as a coalition partner in the Farnham government. As of February 2024, Reform has ten seats in the States Assembly.

Sam Mézec Samuel Yves Mézec (born 26 December 1990) is a Jersey politician who is the leader of Reform Jersey. He has been a member of the States Assembly since 2014, serving as both a Deputy and later as a Senator. Political career Mézec was elected a ...

has been the leader of Reform Jersey since its foundation.

History

Formation

Reform Jersey was founded in 2012 as a pressure group by Montfort Tadier and

. On 24 April 2014, Deputies Mézec and Le Cornu announced that it would become a party to contest the 2014 general election scheduled for October. It was legally registered as a political party at the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

on 4 July 2014. Reform Jersey founding member Deputy Nick Le Cornu was expelled from the party in September 2014 for posting an offensive Tweet about another politician.

Candidates

For the 2014 general election on 15 October 2014, Reform Jersey put up eight candidates. Deputies

, Montfort Tadier and Geoff Southern were re-elected but none of the new Reform candidates were successful. In the 2018 general election on 16 May 2018, the party returned four deputies (including new Deputies Robert Ward and Carina Alves), with Mézec gaining a senatorial seat. On the 3rd of July 2018, Mézec was appointed first Minister of Children and Housing. After nearly only two and half years in the role, on the 8th of November 2020 Mézec resigned from his role as the Minister of Children and Housing in support of a vote of no confidence against the Chief Minister, and subsequently the party organised into a parliamentary 'Opposition' block and allocated their members policy portfolios. In the

2022 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 loca ...

the party won 10 seats, doubling the seat count of its prior highest electoral performance and becoming the largest political party in the States Assembly.

Ideology and platform

The party states its support for a living wage,

progressive taxation A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. The term ''progressive'' refers to the way the tax rate progresses from low to high, with the result that a taxpayer's average tax rate is less than the ...

, 26 weeks' statutory

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...

, construction of

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

, and democratic reform of the

States of Jersey The States Assembly (; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable (Jersey and Guernsey), Connétable of each of the Parishes of Jersey, twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of ...

and the parish system. Their 2018 campaign, included the message, ‘improving the standard of living’. Reform Jersey supported and campaigned for the legalisation of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and organised a rally in support of equal marriage on 12 July 2014, prior to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Jersey on 1 July 2018. The party's 2018 election manifesto, ''Working For A Fairer Island'', promised tax reform, grants to cover the cost of university tuition fees, a rent freeze on the social housing sector, an empty property tax, and electoral reform of the States of Jersey to introduce one type of States member elected in equal-size

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

. It also expressed support for a

universal healthcare Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured right to health, access to health care. It is genera ...

system, free at the point of use, and promised to reduce the cost of GP visits. The manifesto also supported the conservation of

Jèrriais ( ; also known as the Jersey language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance languages, Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an isla ...

. The party supports environmental activism. On 30 April, 2019, party chairman Mézec addressed a rally of local

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a UK-founded global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and ...

activists in the Royal Square. On 2 May 2019, during a debate in the

, Deputy Montfort Tadier called for “ ecological socialism” in response to

anthropogenic climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

. Reform Jersey’s “New Deal for Jersey”, first published on 1 June 2020 and inspired by both the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and contemporary proposals for a

Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...

, calls for free access to primary healthcare, extended rent freezes, reduction of the qualifying period for

unfair dismissal In labour law, unfair dismissal is an act of employment termination made without good reason or contrary to the country's specific legislation. Situation per country Australia Australia has long-standing protection for employees in relation to ...

, and continuing income support and debt write-offs for low-income islanders.

Electoral performance

Current members of the States Assembly

Ten Reform Jersey members were elected to the States Assembly in the

, all to the position of

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

. Of these ten, five were incumbents and five were newly elected.

References

External links

* {{Jersey political parties Political parties in Jersey Political parties established in 2014 2012 establishments in Jersey