Jersey’s race for Chief Minister is effectively over after Senator-elect Helen Miles opted against challenging Lyndon Farnham and instead agreed to join his government.
The move ends days of speculation over whether the poll-topper in the Senatorial race would enter the contest and sets the stage for Senator Farnham to continue leading the government for the next four years.
The deal was confirmed minutes after Thursday’s 5pm nomination deadline, with the pair revealing that Senator-elect Miles will support Senator Farnham’s bid for Chief Minister and, in return, will be nominated as Minister for Justice and Home Affairs if he is appointed.
The development means there will be no contested Chief Minister election when the new States Assembly meets on 19 June.
Who backed who?
A States Assembly press notice issued after nominations closed confirmed that Senator Farnham was the only Member to put their name forward for the role.
His nomination was backed by Senators Alan Maclean, Mary Le Hegarat, Mark Boleat and Helen Miles, as well as Deputies Arlene Maltman, Malcolm Ferey, Richard Honeycombe and Mark Labey.
In a joint statement, the two politicians said they had spent the days since the election holding “positive and constructive discussions” about the leadership and priorities of the next government.
They said their shared objective had been to provide “unity and stability” while allowing the Assembly to focus on issues raised repeatedly during the election campaign, including economic growth, affordability, public finances and public services.
Throughout the week, Senator-elect Miles had not ruled out a Chief Minister bid after topping Sunday’s Island-wide poll.
Her strong result, combined with backing from a number of former colleagues, had led many observers to believe a two-horse race was developing.
“It was… important that we came to a mutual agreement”
Instead, she has now chosen to throw her weight behind Senator Farnham.
“I recognise that Lyndon has a strong level of support within the Assembly to continue in his current role,” Senator-elect Miles said.
“It was therefore important that we came to a mutual agreement, for the benefit of the island, so that we could move forward positively without a divisive and unnecessary contest.”
She added that she had received encouragement from both islanders and fellow States Members to stand for the role and had given the possibility “proper consideration” before reaching her decision.
Senator Farnham described the discussions as constructive and said he looked forward to working closely with Senator-elect Miles in government.
“I thank Helen for her positive approach to our discussions this week and look forward to welcoming her back into the government,” he said.
The agreement marks a significant political rapprochement between two figures who found themselves on opposite sides of the 2024 change of government, when Senator Farnham replaced Deputy Moore as Chief Minister and Senator-elect Miles left ministerial office.
It also provides the clearest indication yet of the shape of Jersey’s next government as political discussions continue over the remaining ministerial positions.
Under Standing Orders, Senator Farnham will now make a statement to the Assembly and answer questions from Members on 19 June. As the sole nominee, he will then be taken to have been selected as Chief Minister-designate.
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