RETURNING St Clement Deputy Alex Curtis has thrown his support behind Helen Miles in the race for Chief Minister – and revealed he hopes to continue leading work on digital transformation in the next government.
Former Assistant Chief Minister and serving Deputy Alex Curtis topped the polls with 1,384 votes, while Deputy Barbara Ward and Deputy Karen Wilson accumulated 1,208 and 1,205 votes respectively.
Deputy Curtis – who in 2022 stood with the Better Way movement – had been an Assistant Chief Minister with responsibility for digital services within Kristina Moore’s government.
However, the Deputy, who is also a member of the Planning Committee, moved to the Scrutiny benches after a vote of no confidence in Deputy Moore saw Deputy Lyndon Farnham take the leading political job at the start of 2024.
Outlining his plans for the next term, Deputy Curtis said he would continue to “see what I can do to work in digital”.
“Normally, that is the Assistant Chief Minister role, but I also want to have a leadership role within Planning of some form.”
He went on to voice support for Senatorial poll-topper Helen Miles as the next Chief Minister, citing her “attention to detail” and ability to work “non-confrontationally” with colleagues.
But, he added: “I feel like I can be a bit of a team player, so as long as the Chief Minister provides a commitment in me to deliver that which I hope to deliver, then I’m happy to work with them.”
Turning to his parish role, Deputy Curtis said he hoped to continue working alongside his colleagues to form a functional “parish team”.
“You can clearly see from the polls and the three incumbents all returning to their jobs that parishioners want to be listened to, and for decisions to be made carefully,” he reasoned.
Meanwhile, fellow returning St Clement Deputy Barbara Ward has called on Jersey’s next Chief Minister to retain the Island’s current health leadership team – warning that continuity will be critical as major healthcare projects move forward.
Speaking after being re-elected in St Clement, the Assistant Minister for Health and Social Services said she hoped to remain involved in health policy during the next political term.
“Working with Tom Binet, Andy Howell and Rose Binet has been an absolute pleasure,” she said. “I’d like a Chief Minister who is going to keep the health team together.”
“We’ve got this contract signed, and anybody new coming in has to start at ground zero; the person who takes the final reigns, I would hope they would protect the health team, because we need stability, continuity and reliability,” she added.
Her St Clement colleague, Deputy Karen Wilson – herself a former Health Minister – told the JEP that she “remains neutral” when asked about her ministerial intentions.
“I can work with anybody across the Assembly, and the key thing for me is making sure that there is an alignment and a commitment to delivery,” she said.
Turning to Island-wide issues, Deputy Wilson suggested that Jersey needs to prepare for “some very, very challenging times ahead”.
“The stewardship of the government and the stewardship of the assembly itself is critical over the next four years,” she said.
“We’re entering into a phase that we’ve never really known before – resource challenges both domestically, but also externally and internationally – so values are absolutely important.”
Both Deputies Ward and Wilson said they were delighted that the electorate had returned the same team to represent their parish.
“Now we can carry on collectively on behalf of our parishioners – it’s just a fantastic parish, the people who work in the office, led by the Constable and the volunteers,” said Deputy Ward.
“They’re just magic, they’re stars in my eyes, and it will be a pleasure to work at the parish level and I thank all the parishioners for bringing the team back.”
Deputy Wilson said that the election result “shows that parishioners wanted continuity”.
“I think it was really a sign of appreciation for competence and capability – the fact that the three people were returned, that in of itself is a tremendous feeling to have that level of confidence from the public.
“I’ve already had parishioners contact me to say that they’re really looking forward to meeting up.
“The energy to make things better and address the issues that they want to see addressed is already here at the moment, and won’t falter in any way.”
