New political party forms in Jersey

A new political party is being formally set up in Jersey today (29 January).

The Progress Party will be led by Senator Steve Pallett, with Deputy Steve Luce as Party Secretary and former politician Eddie Noel, as Treasurer.

The trio have created the organisation based on the belief that Jersey's current electoral system, of 49 individual members with their own manifestos, "does not provide the leadership and governance that they [the voters] should expect in the 21st century."

They say The Progress Party will be a grass-roots organisation, representing a broad cross section of the island's population.

Senator Pallett says he believes the party can help rebuild the island after the pandemic if it wins seats at the next election.

The party says it has already created a constitution, with a Statement of Objectives and Values that it believes will be appealing to local people of all ages in the island.

After the States voted to move to a district electoral system last year - where the role of Senators were axed for 37 district representatives - Progress says this will allow for fairer elections and more achievable goals under a party manifesto.

After being registered later today in the Royal Court, The Progress Party will be the second political party in the island. Reform Jersey was founded in 2012.

Today, Reform Jersey welcomed the news of a further move towards party politics in Jersey saying 'elections should be about voters choosing between competing visions for government and a coherent set of policies'.