THE Chief Minister wants to hold regular meetings with the Island’s main opposition party in a bid for consensus in the Chamber.
Deputy Kristina Moore said that finding harmony among the competing views within the Assembly would be key to resolving the challenges facing the Island, including its staffing, housing and cost-of-living crises.
During December’s Government Plan debate, Reform Jersey members brought several successful amendments to ministerial proposals but ultimately did not back the plan – which was approved by the Assembly – while the party also voted against the government’s Common Strategic Policy, which outlined the strategic aims for this term of office. In the 2022 election, Reform Jersey doubled the number of seats it held to ten and has positioned itself as an opposition party.
Deputy Moore is hoping to hold regular meetings with the group to generate a more cohesive approach to policy-making.
When asked whether there was an ‘us versus them’ divide in the Chamber, Deputy Moore said: ‘I hope not. I think that we, on the whole, have good relationships across the Assembly and engage with different Members on a number of different levels, particularly around their personal [political] interests.
‘I think one thing we have all had to learn how to navigate is the engagement, particularly with Reform Jersey colleagues. I have made a commitment to them that I would welcome a regular meeting with them as a party. We have acknowledged that there is a need to meet on a political level. I hope that will be something we can do in the new year that will maintain open channels of communication.
‘I think it has been really clear in some of the speeches that we have heard from Reform Jersey that there are different political views. That is natural that we hold different views and have different approaches to solving some of the issues for our community.’
Responding to Deputy Moore’s comments about Reform Jersey, party leader Deputy Sam Mézec said he ‘already had regular meetings’ with the Chief Minister as part of his Scrutiny responsibilities.
He added: ‘If there are additional opportunities for meetings that would be okay.’
However, he said comments about a cohesive approach to policy-making were ‘meaningless’ and ‘platitudes’.
‘Reform Jersey has a clear manifesto and our job is to see our manifesto fulfilled.’
The Chief Minister also said the government would need a ‘relentless focus’ to tackle the staff recruitment and retention, cost-of-living and housing crises that are currently gripping the Island.
Deputy Moore said that finding solutions to those three issues would be core priorities for ministers this year.
Several industries have spoken of the difficulties they have experienced in filling vacancies, with one education union stating in November that the Island’s schools were facing staff shortages, while the number of health- and social-care jobs advertised on the government website had regularly numbered more than 100.
House prices have continued to spiral, with the most recent set of figures – from the third quarter of 2022 – showing that prices of average one- and two-bed flats and three-bedroom houses had reached record levels.
And many Islanders have been feeling the pinch as the cost of living continues to increase, with inflation levels soaring to 10.4% last year, having ended 2021 at 3.8%.
Deputy Moore said: ‘We said after the Common Strategic Policy that we needed to have a relentless focus on recruitment and retention [of staff], housing and the cost of living. Those three issues are our main focus of attention.
‘We need a sustainable workforce, particularly in our critical services – healthcare and education. This is a challenge that western Europe has faced. As a small community that is agile we can resolve that.
‘We have talked a lot about how we can deliver things presently. We need to identify it, plan for it and gain consensus. There are opportunities that we would like States Members to consider that can help [resolve] both the cost-of-living crisis and the housing situation. That is going to take some careful thought and discussion.’
