On Friday (May 19th) I convened Jersey’s first Nature Summit and in my introductory speech I referenced a quote that attracted quite a bit of attention. It came from the writer Kurt Vonnegut, who said in an interview towards the end of his life: “I’ll tell you one thing that no Cabinet has ever had … More Minister for the Future?
This week Deputy Jeune announced the second tranche of the government’s e-bike incentive scheme. I know that the scheme attracts some opposition, and I wanted to address some of the questions that have been raised. Question 1: Why are you subsidising the purchase of e-bikes by people who are already “relatively well off”, and could … More The E-bike incentive
This week the States Assembly debated an amendment (from Deputy Rob Ward) to the Common Strategic Policy (the government’s strategic programme for the next few years) that related to Climate Change. This amendment called for the government to; The Council of Ministers proposed an amendment to Deputy Ward’s amendment which removed the first two clauses … More How best can Jersey lead on climate change?
Here’s a little story for you, which has caused me to reflect on my role as a politician and our expectations of politicians. On Thursday morning I sustained a prolapsed disc. It was an exceptionally painful experience as you might imagine, although not a new one as I have a history of back problems. For … More The life of a politician
This is the text of an article published in the JEP on Saturday Aug 20th 2022 A few years ago I lined up with hundreds of other cyclists to start an 85 mile organised cycling event through the Pennines. As we waited to get going we were regaled by pounding dance music and a motivational … More JEP article: What it’s like being a new minister
I’m approaching social media a little differently now I’ve been elected to the States Assembly and become minister for the Environment. First, I don’t have anywhere near as much time as in the past, so I am posting (and browsing) much less frequently. Weekends more than during the week. Second, my primary social media communication … More Social media and communication
This has been an extraordinary night in Jersey politics – unprecedented in my lifetime. A tsunami has swept away most of the government along with the political party with which it was most closely associated. Despite the size of the political earthquake, it is not a surprise. The view that was expressed to me over … More Election 2022: The Verdict
At the Les Quennevais School hustings on Tuesday (14th June), the candidates were asked how they would deal with the cost of living crisis. I argued that the new government should come forward straight away with an emergency budget to offer immediate help. It is blindingly obvious on the doorstep that the public have lost … More Emergency Budget
A quick note to say that whilst I had hoped to knock on every door on the parish, with less than 10 days to go it is obvious that this won’t be possible. I’ll carry on knocking on as many doors as I can, but in the meantime, if you want to have a chat, … More Knocking on doors…
After several weeks of campaigning, here are my reflections so far (summed up in the accompanying video). First, unless I’m very much mistaken, this is going to be a change election. The desire to throw out the “current lot” seems almost universal and very passionately expressed. Old hands may well say that it sounds like … More Reflections so far
Jonathan Renouf 