We’re now half way through this term of office, so this is a good moment to take stock. Two years ago I went into the Assembly full of ambition, an agenda for change and hope for the future. How has it turned out so far?
MENV and out
It’s very much a story of a game with two halves. Within weeks of being elected I was chosen to be the Minister for the Environment (“MENV” in government jargon). In many respects this was my dream political job. But in January this year, the Chief Minister Deputy Kristina Moore was ousted in a vote of no confidence and her government – including me – fell with her. Since then, I’ve been a backbencher.
I won’t pretend it didn’t hurt; I would have loved to continue as “MENV”. However, I’m proud of what I – and Assistant Environment Minister Deputy Jeune – achieved in a short space of time.
Some of the highlights:
- Launching proposals for a utility scale wind farm, which has the potential to be transformative for the island
- Finally getting proposals for licensing of rented dwellings through the Assembly, which means government has the means to tackle sub standard rental accommodation
- Launching the Marine Spatial Plan, an ambitious attempt to increase marine protection and promote sustainable fisheries management
- Beginning the process of improving customer service in the Planning department by commissioning and implementing the MacKinnon report
- Implementing key parts of the carbon neutral roadmap, including incentives for home heating, e-bikes and EV’s.
- Setting in train designation of ten more Geological Sites of Special Interest (a particular passion of mine), which I’m pleased to say the new Environment Minister confirmed in March. (These included Beauport and Fiquet – the inclusion of Fiquet partly the result of work that my father Dr John Renouf did to expand the initial designation of Beauport.
There was more, and would have been much more to come, but politics is a rollercoaster, I’m no longer a minister and so I am getting on with life as a backbencher.
Manifesto update
Mid term is also a good point to look back on my manifesto – how does my record measure up against my commitments?
The first thing to say is that I think the manifesto is still relevant today. There’s not much in the analysis that I would change.
The second point I’d make is that given that I was Minister for the Environment, it is not surprising that I made most progress on my environmental agenda. The “environment” section of my manifesto was titled “Environmental Leadership”, and it included a commitment to take a leadership role in tackling climate change. I did my best to deliver on that. My manifesto mentioned investigating the potential for a wind farm off the SW coast, promoting EV’s and zero carbon home heating. I made significant progress on all of those.
In my manifesto I also committed to marine protection and the creation of a marine park that would deliver on the UN “30×30” commitment (to protect 30% of our marine estate by 2030). The Marine Spatial Plan set this process in motion, with proposals to protect something like 27% of our marine environment. It remains to be seen what Deputy Luce (the new Minister for the Environment) does with those ambitious proposals.
More to be done
There is however still a lot more to be done.
Now I am out of government, I have more opportunity to pursue issues beyond the Environment portfolio. I have taken up roles on the Health Scrutiny panel and Corporate Services panel (which shadows the Chief Minister and Treasury Minister). I am leading a scrutiny sub panel on the new hospital facilities. Health and the economy are two areas that I will be particularly involved in over the next couple of years.
But beyond scrutiny, as a backbencher I can also pursue the wider agenda that I wrote about in my manifesto. I am particularly keen to develop the work I mentioned about wellbeing. As well as measuring “wellbeing” (as for example New Zealand does), we should be thinking about the approach that Wales has taken with its “Well being of future generations” Act. More on that in the months ahead…
Conclusion
It remains a privilege to represent the parish of St Brelade in the Assembly. I am as keen as ever to hear from parishioners, about issues they would like me to raise.
Finally, an anecdote…
A few weeks ago, I was unlocking my bicycle in the Royal Square and next to me a fellow cyclist was unlocking her e-bike. Out of the blue, and apropos of nothing at all, she announced: “I bought it with an e-bike grant. I probably wouldn’t have bothered without the grant.” We got talking and it transpired that she’d recognised me as the minister who (along with Deputy Jeune) had introduced the e-bike incentive scheme and was taking the chance to express her gratitude.
Small steps, but it is good to know that we do make a difference in our political roles.
Jonathan Renouf 