The new political party, which includes at least ten sitting Members, was launched in June and will be among several groups expected to contest the election due be held in June.
Others include the Progress Party and the longer-established Reform Jersey, while the Jersey Liberal Conservatives ‘political movement’, led by former Bailiff and Senator Philip Bailhache, has indicated that it might form a party should it gain enough backing.
Deputy Lindsay Ash, currently an assistant minister and a founder member in the Jersey Alliance, said that the party would elect the individual it thought should be the next Chief Minister a few months before the election.
‘We will have a conference in February or March and around that time we’ll elect a leader,’ he said.
‘The idea would be if they got in and the party wins then that individual would become the Chief Minister.’
Deputy Ash said that he believed that the party system would streamline the process of choosing the Island’s political leader and having a manifesto in place before the election would enable a government to put its plans into place without delay. ‘There would be the first stage of cutting out the process of electing the Chief Minister in the Assembly and all the other ministers, as you would already have that sorted out,’ he said.
‘You would then also be able to tell the civil servants straight away what you are working on, rather than sitting around for six months negotiating and working everything out as you form a Council of Ministers.’
Sitting Members who have joined the Jersey Alliance include Deputies Gregory Guida, Rowland Huelin, Judy Martin and Scott Wickenden, while Chief Minister John Le Fondré is understood to be aligned with the party.
Deputy Ash said that a number of non-States Members had expressed interest in standing, in addition to charity worker Mary O’Keefe and environmentalist Piers Sangan, who have declared their intention to be party candidates.
‘As far as recruitment goes, we already have Mary and Piers and we have around another five people ready to be candidates, who are non-States Members, but they are not ready to declare yet,’ he said.
He added that he felt that the Jersey Alliance would have a party whip system, but it would be fairly loose.
‘I think officially you should have a whip but for two-thirds of the votes, things like assisted dying, I would like to leave people vote with their conscience,’ he said. ‘We would just need to get people on board for the really important votes. If you look at us we are quite broad based in terms of political views.’
