And the newly appointed Chief Minister-designate, who will take office when all his ministers are in place later this week, has vowed to create a more inclusive States Assembly allowing all Members to take an active part in proceedings.
He had previously been critical of Senator Gorst for failing to properly ensure that Scrutiny Panels have access to information and are listened to during States debates.
Yesterday, Members backed Senator Le Fondré, who finished third in last month’s Senatorial election, 30 votes to 19 to deliver a fresh approach at what was the first sitting of the new Assembly.
Many Members immediately rushed over to congratulate the new Chief Minister-designate following the vote, before Senator Le Fondré celebrated with his wife, Sarah, outside the Chamber.
Speaking after the vote, Senator Le Fondré said: ‘I knew it would be tight and I am pleasantly stunned with the reaction from the Assembly and the outcome.
‘I have spoken about the need for inclusivity and the importance of Scrutiny.
‘The next term will be about making sure we have the rules and conditions in place and that information that Scrutiny should be entitled to they have.’
The Chief Minister-designate now has two days to finalise his preferred ministerial team before the States reconvene on Thursday to begin selecting the Council of Ministers. He has already outlined three potential ministers, saying he had offered Senators Gorst, Tracey Vallois and Sam Mézec the External Relations, Education and Housing portfolios respectively. Senator Mézec would also be the new Chief Minister’s preferred choice for Children’s Minister, a new post to be created later this year.
However, Senator Gorst remained tight-lipped about whether he would accept Senator Le Fondré’s offer and said he would speak to the newly appointed Chief Minister this morning.
As part of securing the five Reform Jersey votes, Senator Le Fondré signed an agreement with the party on how they would work together within government.
The party tweeted the three-page agreement, signed by party chairman Senator Mézec and Senator Le Fondré, which includes provisions that Reform Jersey members will not be required to vote with the Council of Ministers if proposed policies go against their manifesto – regardless of whether any of the party are elected to ministerial posts.
It also says that Deputies Montfort Tadier and Geoff Southern will be offered assistant minister posts in culture and Social Security respectively if they are unsuccessful in challenging for ministerial positions. However, this is ordinarily the decision of the departmental minister.
Senator Gorst had been seeking a third and final term as the Chief Minister but was ousted by Scrutiny stalwart Senator Le Fondré as Members voted for a change in leadership.
The outgoing Chief Minister said: ‘I am a democrat and the democratically elected parliament of Jersey has voted for a new Chief Minister.
‘It [the offer of External Relations Minister] is an issue I am going to have to spend the rest of the day thinking about and discussing with my family and Senator Le Fondré.’
Discussing the change in leadership, he added: ‘From my perspective it has got the potential to add to the risks of a good Brexit deal.
‘A number of Members who didn’t support me in this particular role have said, “We need you to take External Relations”. I need to consider all of the factors.’
