Jersey's new chief minister wants to 'wipe slate clean'

Deputy Lyndon Farnham has replaced Deputy Kristina Moore

Jersey's new Chief Minister has urged members of the government to "put aside past grievances" and "wipe the slate clean" as he takes on the role.

Deputy Lyndon Farnham was voted to replace Deputy Kristina Moore as the Chief Minister Designate on Thursday.

Deputies Sam Mezec, Ian Gorst and Mr Farnham had all put themselves forward.

Mr Farnham said it was "too early to tell who we're going to have where yet" in his Council of Ministers and will have a "better idea by Monday".

There were two rounds of voting by the States Assembly on Thursday.

The first round saw Mr Mezec drop out of the race with 10 votes compared to Mr Farnham with 17 and Mr Gorst with 21 and one abstention.

In the second round, Mr Gorst received 22 votes and Mr Farnham received 27 votes.

'Build respect'

Talking to BBC Radio Jersey, Mr Farnham said: "I'm urging members to put aside past grievances, wipe the slate clean and let's try and build some respect back into the assembly by the public."

He added: "I'm extremely grateful to members who put their confidence in me.

"A few weeks ago who would've thought we'd be changing government but here we are and we've got to push on."

Mr Farnham said he would meet with Reform Jersey and Mr Mezec on Friday and would like the party to "participate in the government".

He said he would also be "very keen" to have Mr Gorst in government, and said his experience was "unmatchable".

The new chief minister added he would also be happy to work with his predecessor, Ms Moore.

On Tuesday the States Assembly will meet at 09:30 GMT to appoint a new Council of Ministers.

Mr Farnham said one of his "top priorities" was to increase the supply of affordable homes.

He said: "I think we need to streamline the planning process so we can get permissions through much more quickly."