THE JEP’s assistant editor has announced her intention to stand in this year’s general election on a platform focusing on diversity, transparency and better government communication.
Lucy Stephenson (35) plans to stand in the newly formed district one, which covers St Mary, St Ouen and St Peter.
The former JEP political correspondent, who is a mother of two, is currently on maternity leave and will stand down from her role as assistant editor if she is elected on 22 June.
Mrs Stephenson, who will stand as an independent candidate, said that she ‘passionately believes’ in the need for greater diversity within Jersey’s political system, and thinks that there is ‘an opportunity’ to engage younger and previously unengaged voters.
She said: ‘For years I have called for more women to stand for election, for different groups to stand up for what they believe in, for people my age to engage with local politics and for greater diversity in thought and approach in our decision-making processes – now it’s time for me to try to be a part of the solution, not just talk about it.
‘If elected, I intend to put the principles of fairness, equality, transparency and accountability at the heart of my work.’
The current government has forgotten what it is like to put real, everyday Islanders at the heart of its decisions
Lucy Stephenson
Mrs Stephenson said she felt that the current government ‘often fails to effectively communicate with Islanders in a meaningful way’.
‘As a mother of young children, sat at home during the height of the pandemic trying to juggle work and home-schooling, helping to support relatives who were shielding and anxiously trying to make sense of the world we found ourselves in, I rarely felt “spoken to” by our government,’ she said.
‘The public health messages and the support for businesses were hugely important, of course, but where was the compassion, the reassurance? The current government has forgotten what it is like to put real, everyday Islanders at the heart of its decisions and its communications – that needs to change.’
Children, young people and families will be at the centre of Mrs Stephenson’s manifesto, which will be published in due course.
She described her approach as ‘common sense politics’ and said that she would ‘welcome collaborative thinking, positive politics and working across the political spectrum for the benefit of Islanders’.
- Lucy is not currently working for the JEP and does not have access to its editorial system – editor.
