Early indications suggest Jersey's Chief Minister will survive vote of no confidence
Emma Volney reports.
Early indications suggest Jersey's Chief Minister will survive a vote of no confidence in her leadership.
It has been lodged by former Infrastructure Minister, Deputy Tom Binet, who resigned on Tuesday alongside his sister, former Assistant Health Minister, Deputy Rose Binet.
Deputy Tom Binet claims the Chief Minister has displayed "woeful" leadership skills and that "the past 18 months have been a depressing affair for many".
He adds that "morale amongst States Members is very poor" and has accused Deputy Moore of showing "a complete lack of integrity" over the resignation of Suzanne Wylie as the Government's CEO last year.
Chief Minister Kristina Moore defends her position.
If Deputy Kristina Moore is to survive the vote of no confidence on 16 January, she will need a simple majority of 25 States Members to back her. She currently has around 19 confirmed supporters, mostly ministers, and Reform could provide a further 10 - but only if she agreed to adopt their policies.
In a statement, Deputy Moore said: "Whilst the Council of Ministers is disappointed to receive the resignation of Deputy Tom Binet, we look forward to rebuilding the team after the vote of no confidence, which will take place at the next States Assembly sitting on 16 January.
"Deputy Tom Binet is a driven and committed Jerseyman. I nominated him as Minister for Infrastructure because we need to get homes built and essential infrastructure renewed. However, we are also in a large coalition government and compromise is required.
"We have tried our best to work with Deputy Tom Binet, particularly because we believe that delivering the hospital project is one of the most important things the public wants us to achieve, and we have a plan to do so.
"Our focus remains on doing just that, along with investing in our health and education services, supporting Islanders through these challenging times, and delivering on our priorities: housing, the cost of living, and recruitment and retention, so that families can thrive in our strong island community.
"As Chief Minister, I will now make a nomination to ask the Assembly to appoint a new Minister for Infrastructure.
"Deputy Rose Binet has also resigned as Assistant Health Minister and is immediately replaced by Connétable Marcus Troy."
Deputy Max Andrews says that he does not believe Tom Binet could lead the island alone
Deputy Max Andrews of St Helier North is among those backing the Chief Minister.
He told ITV News: "I don't believe Deputy Tom Binet can lead the island himself alone unless he can provide an alternative choice and that requires 11 ministers to be part of his cabinet and so far he has not articulated what that cabinet will look like if he does prove to be successful."
The vote of no confidence is the first item up for debate in the States on 16 January.
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