EXCLUSIVE
DEPUTY Elaine Millar has fired the starting pistol on Jersey’s 2026 election – becoming the first candidate to officially stake a claim on one of the newly reintroduced Islandwide seats.
The Treasury Minister revealed her intentions at the end of a wide-ranging podcast interview in which she explained and defended some of the “difficult decisions” in the proposed Budget for 2026 to 2029.
While she said she was previously “uncertain” about whether she would stand again next year, the Deputy of St John, St Lawrence and Trinity said that she felt the government had “achieved quite a lot” and that she “would like to come back and try to do more”.
Pressed on whether she wished to continue in her current constituency role, Deputy Millar acknowledged that, by supporting the return of the Senator role, she had created an expectation that she herself would seek an Islandwide mandate.
“I feel slightly hoisted by my own petard,” she admitted.
“I thought, ‘oh my goodness, if this wins, people are going to expect me to stand as a Senator.’ I hadn’t really thought about it [ahead of the matter being debated in the States Assembly],” Deputy Millar added, as she confirmed she would be seeking election for the Island-wide role.
Formerly Jersey’s first female Viscount following a long career involving senior positions in finance and law, Deputy Millar – a Trinity parishioner of 20 years – was first elected in 2022.
She was appointed Social Security Minister in the then-Chief Minister Kristina Moore’s government, before being placed in charge of the Island’s purse strings when Deputy Lyndon Farnham took the reins in January 2024.
On 9 December, Deputy Millar will present her second Budget, which she described as being one characterised by “restraint” following years of public sector growth and project spending, and focused squarely on meeting the government’s strategic priorities, with notable investment targeted at health and children’s services.
“We are trying to restrain growth… There is a constant demand for more at the same time as people saying to stop spending so much,” she said. “If we can control spending, I would like to think we can then maintain our tax system as it is.”
With tax increases or other significant new revenue-raising measures off the table, Deputy Millar defended the decision to use alternative funding sources – such as redirecting millions originally destined for the Social Security Fund, which pays out pensions and benefits – to meet this demand.
Responding to criticism over the move, including from independent economists who said that it was “not prudent” to make a decision to cut money destined for the Social Security Fund prior to a comprehensive actuarial assessment of future pension liabilities, Deputy Millar contended that the pot was already “very well-funded” and maintained that there was no cause for alarm among current pensioners or those who will be in the coming years.
“Of course, there is still money going in. There is money coming in from employers’ contributions, employees’ contributions… We will be putting £184 million in over the four-year period, which is less than the formula would have said, but that is part of the balancing act,” she said.
“Even if no money went into the fund at all… we could pay pensions and benefits for seven years… I accept everybody won’t be happy with that, but it means we’re not topping up a fund that is already very healthy. But equally, it means we’re allowed to spend on the things people want,” the minister later added.
While a more “disciplined” Budget, Deputy Millar maintained that ministers’ spending plans still would still benefit Islanders struggling with the cost of living, pointing to increased tax thresholds, enhanced childcare funding, as well as planned increases to the minimum wage, and inflation-linked boosts to income support.
Deputy Millar will be taking part in All Island Media's Budget Special Question Time event tonight at the Pomme d'Or. Tickets are free for All Island Media Unlimited subscribers (sign up here for £1), or can be found on Eventbrite by clicking here or below.
All proposed Budget amendments must be lodged by today, with ministers set to carefully consider which they will support over the coming week.
While Deputy Millar declined to reveal which of those published so far would receive ministerial backing, among those she spoke against were a Scrutiny bid to redirect nearly a quarter-of-a-million from health to tackle “significant cost pressures” facing the States of Jersey Police, Sir Philip Bailhache’s proposal to block £43 million in borrowing for the first phase of Fort Regent’s redevelopment – replacing it with a temporary 1% GST rise ringfenced for the project – and former Housing Minister Deputy David Warr’s plan to reinstate mortgage interest tax relief from 2027.
On the latter, Deputy Millar said that the benefit primarily reached “people who are already better off… because they have a home, they own their home”, and that the government’s priority was instead to “target relief where it is most needed”, primarily through the income support system.
