A POLITICIAN who has campaigned for wider access to fertility treatment since taking her place in the States Assembly four years ago is intending to seek re-election as a representative for St Mary, St Ouen and St Peter.
Deputy Lucy Stephenson was elected for the three-parish district in 2022 after polling the second-highest tally among the seven candidates for four places in the States Assembly.
She said she wanted to continue making a positive contribution to the decision-making process.
“My vision is for a community which works together to build a healthier, happier, more resilient population, making Jersey an even more attractive place to live, work, bring up children, invest and do business long into the future,” she said.
“We need to find sustainable solutions to some big challenges which for too long have been left in the ‘too difficult’ pile and take action based on evidence and, where possible, data.
In order to do that effectively the next States Assembly is going to need to be capable of working collaboratively and positively towards common goals and, crucially, of listening to and engaging with Islanders.”
The mother-of-three, who lives in St Ouen and is a former JEP journalist, served as Assistant Chief Minister and assistant minister with responsibility for sport under the government headed by Chief Minister Kristina Moore between July 2022 and January 2024.
As part of this role she was involved in developing Jersey’s first performance sport programme backed by new government investment and delivered a review of sport and physical activity which saw extensive community engagement.
A founding governor of infertility support charity Tiny Seeds, Deputy Stephenson has also campaigned for greater support for fertility patients, and successfully proposed an increase in funding for IVF to significantly extend access to treatment.
Since the change of government at the start of 2024, she has played an active role as a backbencher, including serving as vice-chair of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel, member of the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel, chair of the Diversity Forum and as a member of the Privileges and Procedures Committee.
Deputy Stephenson was part of the ‘Better Way’ movement formed ahead of the 2022 election, whose other successful candidates included Deputies Kristina Moore, David Warr and Alex Curtis. Deputy Stephenson said she would be standing this time as an independent candidate.
