LONG-SERVING former St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft is set to receive the largest severance payment following June’s election – with payouts to retiring and unsuccessful candidates totalling almost £200,000.
Figures released by the States Assembly show that £191,432.79 will be paid under arrangements set by the States Members’ Remuneration Reviewer.
Mr Crowcroft – who stood down after more than two decades in public office and has been succeeded by the parish’s first female Constable, Inna Gardiner – will receive £36,694.06.
Having also served for more than 19 years consecutively, former Reform Jersey and St Helier Deputy Geoff Southern will receive the second largest retirement payment, £30,311.58, while former St Lawrence Constable Deidre Mezbourian £25,571.50.
Former St Saviour Deputy and latterly parish Constable Kevin Lewis – who was ousted by political newcomer and former honorary police Dave Curtis – will receive the largest payment of any unsuccessful candidate at £25,571.50.
Former Environment Minister Steve Luce will receive £18,087.16 following his unsuccessful Senatorial bid, while former Housing Minister and Reform Jersey leader Sam Mézec will receive £15,280.53.
Mr Mézec’s former Reform Jersey colleague and Education Minister Rob Ward, former St Brelade Constable Mike Jackson, and St Helier Deputy Steve Ahier will each receive £9,979.12 after losing their seats following two consecutive terms.
Meanwhile, former St Helier Deputy David Warr and former Reform Jersey St Saviour Deputy Raluca Kovacs, who each served for one term, will receive £4,989.56.
The payments are made in accordance with a determination issued by the independent States Members’ Remuneration Reviewer in 2023.
The reviewer introduced specific arrangements for the 2026 election but has already determined that, from 2030 onwards, loss-of-office compensation will only be available to unsuccessful candidates with at least two years’ continuous service, with payments based on length of service and capped after four years.
Speaking on Channel 103 yesterday afternoon in his first interview since his election defeat, Deputy Mézec argued that financial protections for politicians help ensure that public office remains accessible to ordinary Islanders, warning that making politics too financially risky could leave it “the preserve of a handful of rich people who can afford to do it”.
