December 1, 2023
Jersey Ministers and officials represented the Island at the 2023 UK Party Conferences, working to build and maintain connections and relationships to ensure that Jersey’s interests are properly understood and addressed at Westminster.
At the Labour Party Conference, which took place in Liverpool, the Chief Minister, Deputy Kristina Moore, and the Assistant Minister for External Relations, Deputy Ian Gorst, held a series of meetings and engagements with parliamentarians and international diplomatic representatives, including with the Shadow Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood MP, Fleur Anderson MP and Alan Whitehead MP. There were also brief engagements with the Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy MP, and the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed MP (who visited Jersey earlier in the year).
Jersey’s key objectives at the Labour Party Conference were to enhance the understanding of Island’s constitutional relationship with the UK and other priority policy areas, including our position on sustainability and net zero, our commitment to transparency and tackling financial crime, and our distinct domestic and international identity.
At the Conservative Party Conference, which took place in Manchester, there were productive engagements with senior cabinet Ministers including the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch MP, the Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk MP, and the then-Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly MP, and also with the Chair of the Justice Committee, Sir Bob Neill MP. Jersey has been engaging proactively with the Depart for Business and Trade in recent months to ensure that our international trade ambitions are well represented and understood, and our engagement with the Ministry of Justice and the Justice Committee is long-standing given their role in facilitating and scrutinising the constitutional relationship.
Jersey was also represented by officials at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference, held in Bournemouth, and the Scottish National Party Conference in Aberdeen.
Although Jersey is, of course, not represented at Westminster, engagement across the UK political spectrum – including at a range of Party Conferences – helps to ensure that the Island’s interests are considered by UK politicians. Attendance at Party Conferences, which also provides valuable insights into the latest UK political developments, is complemented by the programme of regular Ministerial and official-level engagement organised throughout the year by the Government of Jersey London Office.
