A fundamental part of the ‘New Deal’ approach which Reform Jersey advocates is to put more power in the hands of ordinary citizens to determine how their community is run. We believe that a more democratic and accountable government system is more likely to lead to improved standards and better-quality decisions being made.

Those who take power in government should use it to empower the communities they represent.

Jersey’s democratic system is broken. Voter engagement rates are among the lowest in the OECD. Our election turnouts are very low and opinion polling regularly shows that the public hold their politicians in low regard. This is unsurprising when Islanders routinely witness their government involved in embarrassing scandals and wasting large amounts of public money.

But without public participation, governments are likely to become more out of touch and unresponsive to what people want. The disengagement and lack of trust in our democratic institutions is ultimately what leads to bad governments.

Reform Jersey was formed to change the way government works. We believe that a more equitable voting system and party politics will bring transparency and accountability to the ballot box and empower voters to be able to choose what kind of government they want. The establishment of other political parties in advance of this election is a vindication of our long-held position. There are many improvements which still need to be made to our electoral system and government structure, to ensure that the people of Jersey can have faith that their government is working effectively and efficiently towards a vision they have confidence in.

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