REFORM Jersey has received £20,000 from the Jersey branch of Unite ahead of this month’s election – with the union dismissing criticism of its long-standing support for the party as part of a campaign marked by “unfounded smears and misinformation”.
The donation is double the £10,000 provided during the 2022 election campaign, which saw the party secure a record ten seats.
The union had also contributed £20,000 towards the party in 2018, when leader Deputy Sam Mézec secured a Senatorial seat and a subsequent position in the then-Chief Minister John Le Fondré’s government.
Deputy Mézec confirmed the donation to the JEP as he sought to rubbish questions raised over the party’s relationship with Unite raised in a series of online articles by right-wing blog Guido Fawkes, one of the UK’s most popular political news sites, which have been circulating on local social media channels.
The articles suggested that the union’s role as the party’s largest donor was “under scrutiny” due to its allegedly “dubious record on Russia, Hamas and Israel” – something strongly denied by the party – and highlighted the fact that a Unite representative sits on Reform Jersey’s board under the party constitution.
Asked whether the articles had prompted any reconsideration of the relationship, a Unite spokesperson told the JEP that the union remained firmly behind the party.
“Unite has supported Reform Jersey for a dozen years. This decision is endorsed by Unite’s Executive Council. Reform Jersey supports a broadly pro-worker agenda and this is in line with Unite’s aims and values,” the spokesperson said.
The union added that any financial support provided during the current election campaign would be publicly declared by Reform Jersey in its campaign spending return, as required under Jersey’s election rules.
“Unite has had a member on the Reform Jersey board for over a decade and this position is provided for in the party’s constitution,” they said.
The JEP also asked whether Unite is aware of any concerns among its membership regarding the union’s support for Reform Jersey, and if so, how have those concerns been addressed.
“Unite is in regular contact with all the senior members of Reform Jersey and any policy concerns or other issues would be raised directly and privately,” the union said.
The spokesperson also appeared to reject criticism raised during the election campaign, stating: “The current election campaign in Jersey has been marked by unfounded smears and misinformation but these have not altered the relationship between Unite and the party. That is because the aims and values which led to the founding of Reform Jersey remain valid.”
One of the Guido Fawkes articles noted that Deputy Mézec was a founding member of the Jersey Palestine Solidarity Campaign and highlighted two posts on the group’s Facebook page from 2024 and 2025 which it described as “grim reading”.
However, Deputy Mézec told the JEP that, while he was one of the group’s founders, he had not been closely involved with it for around eight years and was not responsible for the page.
He also noted that the group “has no constitutional relationship” with Reform Jersey or Unite. However, he added: “Most unions are in favour of human rights. They wouldn’t have a problem with their members supporting that.”
Deputy Mézec said it was strange that there were suggestions his support for the Palestinian people was “wrong and sinister when in actual fact I think supporting genocide is wrong and sinister. The quote I usually give is ‘Free Palestine’.”
In a separate article, screenshots of posts regarding the war in Ukraine by St Helier Central candidate Lee Carpenter made in 2025 on X (formerly Twitter) were highlighted. In one, he quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s justification for invading Ukraine in an interview with Tucker Carlson, stating: “Can’t argue with that”.
The blog alleged that this was “all at odds with Unite’s own position on Ukraine: the union has repeatedly passed motions of solidarity with Kyiv at its conferences”.
Deputy Mézec denounced the “extremely selective” nature of the screenshots, which he said were not balanced with instances where Mr Carpenter had criticised Putin as a “war criminal”.
He said that the union had not raised any concerns with Reform Jersey and confirmed that it had been happy to donate to its 2026 election campaign in the sum of £20,000.
He said this donation had been declared around “an hour after” receiving the official form to do so, “so it’s all above board”.
Formal campaign spending returns detailing donations and expenditure are expected to be published after the election.
