Jersey States Member Scorecard

AN INDEPENDENT RECORD OF EVERY PROMISE MADE IN THE STATES OF JERSEY

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PRE-LAUNCH FEEDBACK PHASE — Public launch: Friday, 18 September 2026
04 SeptStamp duty on buy-to-let and second homes regraded from Mixed to Kept after the vote that delivered it was found unlinked; Long-Term Care cap ruling stands, with the December 2025 vote added.— Stephen Ahier04 SeptSustainable finance promise regraded from No recorded vote to Kept after a reader challenge found the amendment that delivered it, which she lodged herself, unlinked.— Hilary Jeune04 SeptTwo further verdict-based promises revised after reader challenges: constituency surgeries regraded Partial to Delivered; Equalities Minister regraded Outstanding to In progress.— Hilary Jeune
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Thomas Anthony Coles

Deputy for St Helier South · Reform Jersey

Member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Jersey Branch) Executive committee · Member of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel · Member of the Planning Committee

Thomas Anthony Coles

Thomas Coles was first elected to the States Assembly in 2022 as Deputy for St Helier South and was re-elected to the same seat in 2026, this time representing Reform Jersey. During his first term he served on the Public Accounts Committee, the Planning Committee, and the Machinery of Government Review Sub-Committee, becoming Chair of that Sub-Committee and Vice Chair of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel between 2024 and 2026, alongside membership of the Privileges and Procedures Committee. He currently sits on the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel, the Planning Committee, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Jersey Branch) Executive Committee.

For the 2026–2030 term, Coles campaigned on themes of government accountability, cost of living, and delivering concrete projects for St Helier South. His specific pledges include supporting the Shoreline Management Plan to protect Havre des Pas and create new cycling infrastructure, pushing for Fort Regent to be developed without delay as a modern leisure and entertainment complex, reintroducing the pensioners' income tax threshold through a fairer contribution system, developing the biopharmaceuticals sector as a high-value export industry, and introducing real competition into Jersey's logistics market to lower shipping costs for islanders.

Sources

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States participation

4

Votes expected

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Coverage

Media mentions

Every Jersey media article naming this member, month by month. Accented bars mark coverage spikes — hover or focus any month to see the stories behind it.

123May 24Aug 24Nov 24Feb 25May 25Aug 25Nov 25Feb 26May 26Aug 26

What drove the spikes

Attendance

Turnout in the States Assembly — 2026–2030 Assembly

The States Assembly records a reason against every non-vote, so being ill, off-island, on parental leave or barred by a declared interest can be told apart from simply not turning up. Absences with an accepted reason are removed from both sides of the rate rather than held against the member.

4 votes in 2026–2030 Assembly so far — fewer than the 10 needed before this scorecard will publish a participation rate. The record to date:

  • Voted or abstained4

Manifesto

Promises, and how they voted — 2026–2030 Assembly

Grouped by policy area. Each promise carries the recorded States Assembly votes that test it, and whether this member voted to deliver — open any vote for the motion and the reasoning. A vote counts against a promise only where it plainly contradicts it; where a member voted against one particular measure but the breach is arguable, the vote is shown and set aside rather than counted. Where no recorded vote bears on a promise, an AI delivery verdict assesses progress against the public record.

Voted to deliverVoted againstAbsent or abstained

Economy, Tax & Cost of Living

3 promises · 0 kept

No recorded States Assembly vote bears on this area yet.

  • No recorded votedirectional

    Will pursue reintroduction of the pensioners' income tax threshold funded through a fairer contribution system.

    “By reforming tax and Social Security, we can reintroduce the pensioners' income tax threshold, ensuring older islanders keep more of what they have earned, funded through a fairer contribution system.”

    Tax And GstSocial Security And Benefits
    No recorded vote - delivery verdictNot yet testedmedium confidence

    Deputy Coles was re-elected on 7 June 2026 and the new 2026-2030 Assembly first sat on 19 June 2026, giving him fewer than three months in the new term. No proposition, ministerial statement, or formal review specifically addressing the reintroduction of a higher pensioners' income tax threshold — funded through Social Security contribution reform such as removing the upper earnings cap — has been recorded in the States Assembly in that short window. The Reform Jersey 2026 manifesto ('Turning the Tide') did include 'introducing tax allowances for pensioners' and 'removing the upper earnings cap on Social Security contributions' as costed pledges, confirming the commitment, but Reform Jersey holds only 7 of 49 elected seats after the election and Coles holds no ministerial office, meaning delivery requires Assembly support not yet secured. The 2026 Budget (passed before the new Assembly sat) made no such distinction, setting a single universal threshold of £21,250.

  • No recorded voteaspirational

    Will support development of the biopharmaceuticals sector to grow a high-value export industry for Jersey.

    “Emerging sectors such as biopharmaceuticals present a real opportunity to grow a high-value export industry. Building on the regulatory frameworks already in place for medicinal cannabis, we can support innovation and create new economic opportunities for the island.”

    Economy And Business
    No recorded vote - delivery verdictNot yet testedmedium confidence

    Deputy Coles was re-elected on 7 June 2026 and the 2026-2030 Assembly first sat on 19 June 2026; as of 5 September 2026, only approximately eleven weeks have elapsed. No evidence was found of Coles lodging a proposition, requesting a ministerial review, or taking any recorded Assembly action specifically directed at developing Jersey's biopharmaceuticals sector as a high-value export industry. His post-election Assembly activity, as recorded on statesassembly.je, relates to cannabis decriminalisation questioning rather than export-sector economic development. The sector itself continues to grow (Northern Leaf export licences rising sharply in 2025-26 and the previous Economic Development Minister calling for a 'recommitment' to biopharmaceuticals in April 2026), but this momentum predates the new Assembly and is not attributable to action by Coles.

  • No recorded votedirectional

    Will take action to introduce real competition into Jersey's logistics market to reduce shipping costs for islanders.

    “The cost of living continues to put pressure on households, and shipping costs are a key factor... We need to take action to bring real competition into Jersey's logistics market and reduce costs for islanders.”

    Cost Of LivingEconomy And Business
    No recorded vote - delivery verdictNot yet testedmedium confidence

    Deputy Coles was re-elected on 7 June 2026 and the new Assembly first sat on 19 June 2026, leaving only approximately eleven weeks in the 2026-2030 term by the assessment date. No proposition, scrutiny referral, ministerial statement, or other formal Assembly action by Deputy Coles specifically addressing competition in Jersey's logistics market was identified; his only recorded proposition since re-election concerned a pause on a planning-ministry restructure (July 2026). The wider Jersey freight context shows that scrutiny of the DFDS concession agreement and freight pricing was conducted by the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel in an interim report published March 2026, but that work predates Coles' current mandate and was not attributable to him.

Infrastructure & Environment

2 promises · 0 kept

No recorded States Assembly vote bears on this area yet.

  • No recorded votedirectional

    Will support delivery of the Shoreline Management Plan to protect Havre des Pas and create cycling infrastructure.

    “The Shoreline Management Plan will not only protect Havre des Pas but provide improved public spaces and safe cycling route from Grève d'Azette to town.”

    Environment And ClimateInfrastructure And Transport
    No recorded vote - delivery verdictIn progressmedium confidence

    Deputy Coles was re-elected to the 2026–2030 Assembly on 7 June 2026, giving him fewer than three months in the new term. The underlying government programme he committed to supporting — the Havre des Pas Coastal Flood Alleviation Scheme — is actively advancing: a 2025 public consultation was completed and reported in March 2026, designs are being refined as of July 2026 (Jersey Evening Post, 17 July 2026), a planning application is targeted for Autumn 2027, and construction is planned for 2029–2033. The scheme explicitly incorporates safe cycle routes and public-realm improvements from La Grève d'Azette to town, directly matching the promise. No independent evidence of specific actions by Coles himself in the new term has been found, but the scheme he pledged to support is in active pre-construction development.

  • No recorded votedirectional

    Will push for Fort Regent to be delivered without delay as a modern leisure and entertainment complex.

    “Fort Regent is an iconic structure for our Island, sitting in the heart of St Helier. This project must be delivered without delay, and I support its future as a modern leisure and entertainment complex. We cannot leave the Fort empty for any longer than is necessary.”

    Infrastructure And TransportParish And Local Government
    No recorded vote - delivery verdictIn progressmedium confidence

    Deputy Coles was re-elected on 7 June 2026 and the 2026-2030 Assembly first sat on 19 June 2026, giving him only approximately 11 weeks in the new term by the assessment date; it is too early to expect individual action beyond advocacy. The broader Fort Regent redevelopment he championed is actively progressing: the States Assembly approved £43 million in Phase 1 borrowing in December 2025 (Island FM, December 2025), a planning application for the iconic roof was lodged by the Jersey Development Company in January 2026 (Jersey Evening Post, January 2026), updated plans were presented to the public in April 2026, and the JDC's target reopening date remains 31 December 2028. No evidence was found of Coles taking specific independent action on this issue within the new Assembly term, and Phase 2 funding is still to be debated in December 2026.

Manifesto · Closed term

Promises, and how they voted — 2022–2026 Assembly

Deputy for St Helier South · Independent. This term has closed — shown here as this member's earlier record, not the live one. A vote counts against a promise only where it plainly contradicts it; an arguable breach is shown and set aside rather than counted.

100%

Kept rate

98%

States participation

6

Promises tracked

98%

of the 877 votes they were expected to cast in 2022–2026 Assembly

  • Voted or abstained860
  • Not present for vote17

Set aside from the rate · 15

  • Excused attendance15

These 15 ballots are removed from both sides of the rate, not counted as absences. Each is a vote the member either could not cast or was barred from casting. Reasons are the States Assembly’s own, as published in its voting record.

Voted to deliverVoted againstAbsent or abstained

Health & Social Care

1 promise · 1 kept

4recorded votes

4 Pour

  • Keptspecific

    Remove the Social Security contributions cap for higher earners and their employers.

    “We will do the same with Social Security, removing the cap on higher earners and their employers.”

    Social Security And BenefitsTax And Gst

    4 recorded votes test this promise

    4 Pour
    • 15 Dec 2022✓P.97/2022(Amd)(23) — Proposed Government Plan 2023-2026 (P.97/2022): twenty-third amendment Removing the Upper Earnings caps — Pour, voted to deliver16-28

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This Government Plan amendment is titled 'Removing the Upper Earnings caps', which is precisely what promise 5 commits to doing for Social Security contributions.

    • 14 Dec 2023✓P.72/2023 Amd.(3) — Proposed Government Plan 2024-2027 P72 Amendment 3 - Removal of earnings cap — Pour, voted to deliver12-33

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This Government Plan amendment is titled 'Removal of earnings cap', directly advancing the promise to remove the Social Security contributions cap for higher earners.

    • 10 Dec 2025✓P.70/2025 Amd.(5). — Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2026-2029 (P.70/2025): fifth amendment. Upper Earnings Limit, Part 1 (Social Security contributions) — Pour, voted to deliver13-30

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This is Coles' own amendment directly removing the upper earnings limit on Social Security contributions for employers and employees, which is precisely what Promise 5 commits to.

    • 10 Dec 2025✓P.70/2025 Amd.(5). — Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2026-2029 (P.70/2025): fifth amendment. Upper Earnings Limit, Part 2 (Long-Term Care contributions) — Pour, voted to deliver16-28

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This is Part 2 of Coles' own amendment removing the upper earnings limit on Long-Term Care contributions, a direct component of the promise to remove the Social Security contributions cap for higher earners.

    Related votes (shown for context; too partial or indirect to count towards the score)

    • 20 Sept 2022·P.80/2022(Amd)(10) — Mini-Budget 2022 (P.80/2022): tenth amendment. Social Security Contributions Decrease - reduced lodging period — Pour11-32

      This amendment proposed a temporary decrease in Social Security contributions, which works against the promise to remove the cap for higher earners, so voting Contre aligns with the promise's direction.

      Considered and set aside: voting this way is not clearly a breach of the promise. The motion concerns the lodging period for a Social Security contributions decrease amendment, which is a procedural matter about timing rather than directly deciding whether to remove the contributions cap for higher earners as promised.

Economy, Tax & Cost of Living

2 promises · 2 kept

7recorded votes

6 Pour · 1 Contre

  • Keptspecific

    Remove GST on essential items like food and water, and extend GST to finance companies' use of local business services.

    “Now is the time to remove GST on essential items, like food and water, and make large finance companies pay GST on services provided by local businesses.”

    Tax And GstCost Of Living

    3 recorded votes test this promise

    2 Pour · 1 Contre
    • 24 Nov 2022✓P.100/2022 — Cost of living crisis – Removal of 5% goods and services tax (GST) from food (excluding alcoholic drinks) — Pour, voted to deliver17-28

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This motion directly proposes removing 5% GST from food, which is the core of the promise to remove GST on essential items like food.

    • 15 Dec 2022✓P.97/2022(Amd)(22) — Proposed Government Plan 2023-2026 (P.97/2022): twenty-second amendment GST on Sanitary Products — Pour, voted to deliver24-22

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This amendment to the Government Plan removes GST from sanitary products, a partial delivery of the promise to remove GST from essential items.

    • 12 Sept 2023✓P.58/2023 — GST on menstrual sanitary products (P.66/2022) - Rescindment. — Contre, voted to deliver25-21

      Voting Contre delivers this

      This motion rescinds the earlier decision to remove GST from menstrual sanitary products, so voting Contre (against rescindment) would preserve the GST removal and advance the promise.

  • Keptspecific

    Scrap the discounted top rate of income tax so the same rate applies to all earners after allowances.

    “We will scrap the discounted top rate of tax and make the rate, after allowances, the same for everyone.”

    Tax And GstPublic Finances

    4 recorded votes test this promise

    4 Pour
    • 15 Dec 2022✓P.97/2022(Amd)(19) — Proposed Government Plan 2023-2026 (P.97/2022): nineteenth amendment Suspension of High Value Residents (P.97/2022 Amd.(19)) — Pour, voted to deliver15-33

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This amendment proposes suspending the High Value Residents regime, which is related to the discounted top rate of income tax that the promise seeks to scrap.

    • 05 Jul 2023✓P.44/2023 — Taxation of High Value Residents. Paragraph 'a'. — Pour, voted to deliver12-28

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This vote on paragraph (a) of Taxation of High Value Residents bears on the preferential income tax treatment of high-value residents, which is what the promise to scrap the discounted top rate targets.

    • 05 Jul 2023✓P.44/2023 — Taxation of High Value Residents. Paragraph 'c'. — Pour, voted to deliver19-21

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This vote on paragraph (c) of Taxation of High Value Residents directly concerns the special tax rate applied to high-value residents, bearing on the promise to end discounted top rates.

    • 20 Sept 2022✓P.80/2022(Amd)(4) — Mini-Budget 2022 (P.80/2022): fourth amendment. Replace the 20% standard rate of personal income tax with 25% for all but High Value Residents — Pour, voted to deliver11-34

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This motion sought to end the discounted 20% standard rate for most taxpayers and charge income tax at 25% with marginal allowances, which directly bears on the promise to scrap the discounted top rate so the same effective rate applies to all earners.

    Related votes (shown for context; too partial or indirect to count towards the score)

    • 20 Sept 2022·P.80/2022(Amd)(6)(Re-issue) — Mini-Budget 2022 (P.80/2022): sixth amendment. New personal tax allowance — Pour9-33

      Coles' own amendment to introduce a new personal tax allowance is part of the same tax-reform agenda as scrapping the discounted top rate, though it addresses allowances rather than the rate structure directly.

Infrastructure & Environment

2 promises · 1 kept

6recorded votes

5 Pour · 1 Contre

  • No recorded voteaspirational

    Pursue the use of hydrogen as an environmentally friendly fuel for heating and transport, positioning Jersey as a hydrogen test bed.

    “We need to consider the use of environmentally friendly fuels, like hydrogen, for home heating and transport. We could offer our Island as a test bed for localised hydrogen production, supply, and testing buses and lorries.”

    Environment And ClimateInfrastructure And Transport
    No recorded vote - delivery verdictNot yet testedhigh confidence

    No evidence was found that Deputy Coles took any formal action — proposition, amendment, ministerial submission, or scrutiny report — to advance hydrogen as a fuel for home heating or road transport, or to establish Jersey as a hydrogen test-bed, during the 2022–2026 term. Jersey's Carbon Neutral Roadmap (April 2022) mentioned hydrogen only as a possibility for future energy policy, and the Government's low-carbon heating incentive launched in May 2023 focused entirely on heat pumps and electric systems with no hydrogen component. The only Jersey hydrogen test-bed activity identified was a Ports of Jersey/OceansLab maritime hydrogen partnership (February 2023), which was a Government-led initiative unconnected to Coles, and Jersey still had no dedicated energy strategy as of August 2026.

  • Keptdirectional

    Pursue carbon sequestration using green spaces and seabeds, and maximise renewable energy generation.

    “We need to use our green spaces and sea-beds to effectively sequester carbon from our atmosphere, and generate as much of our own power as possible using renewable sources.”

    Environment And ClimateInfrastructure And Transport

    6 recorded votes test this promise

    5 Pour · 1 Contre
    • 17 Apr 2024✓P.82/2023 — Offshore Wind — Pour, voted to deliver40-1

      Voting Pour delivers this

      This vote adopts an Offshore Wind proposition, directly advancing the promise to maximise renewable energy generation.

    • 17 Apr 2024✓P.82/2023 — Offshore Wind (P.82-2023): Amendment — Contre, voted to deliver2-41

      Voting Contre delivers this

      This amendment to the Offshore Wind proposition, if passed, could modify or weaken the offshore wind commitment; voting Contre preserves the main renewable energy proposition.

    • 23 Oct 2024✓P.44/2024 — Marine Spatial Plan as amended — Pour, voted to deliver40-0

      Voting Pour delivers this

      The Marine Spatial Plan bears on carbon sequestration using seabeds and management of marine green spaces, as the promise specifically mentions seabeds.

    • 01 Mar 2023✓P.117/2022 — Establishment of a Climate Council - as amended — Pour, voted to deliver45-0

      Voting Pour delivers this

      Establishing a Climate Council as amended supports the institutional framework for pursuing carbon sequestration and renewable energy goals in the promise.

    • 22 Apr 2025✓P.11/2025 — Evidence-based Energy Strategy (P.11-2025) as amended — Pour, voted to deliver43-0

      Voting Pour delivers this

      An Evidence-based Energy Strategy directly advances the promise to maximise renewable energy generation by establishing a strategic framework for it.

    • 09 Dec 2025✓P.70/2025 Amd.(32). — Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2026-2029 (P.70/2025): thirty-second amendment. Environment Departmental Funding, Part 2 only — Pour, voted to deliver44-1

      Voting Pour delivers this

      Restoring £656,000 to the Environment department's budget supports the environmental work (green spaces, sequestration, renewables) that underpins this promise.

    Related votes (shown for context; too partial or indirect to count towards the score)

    • 09 Dec 2025·P.70/2025 Amd.(22). — Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2026-2029 (P.70/2025): twenty-second amendment. Victoria Marine Lake, Repair and Maintenance — Contre2-41

      Funding repair and maintenance of Victoria Marine Lake touches on preserving marine/green spaces relevant to carbon sequestration and environmental goals.

      Considered and set aside: this motion does not bear on the promise. The promise concerns carbon sequestration and renewable energy generation, while the motion specifically decided on funding for repair and maintenance of Victoria Marine Lake — a recreational facility with no clear connection to either carbon sequestration or renewable energy as promised.

Governance & Public Services

1 promise · 0 kept

No recorded States Assembly vote bears on this area yet.

  • No recorded votedirectional

    Establish a worker-held permit system tied to individuals rather than businesses to better manage migration and workforce skills.

    “We need to establish a permit system where we get the right people for the right jobs for the right length of time. These permits should belong to the person and not the business, as we need businesses to have better succession planning and start training and upskilling their local workforce.”

    Population And MigrationEconomy And Business
    No recorded vote - delivery verdictPartialmedium confidence

    Deputy Coles's 2022 manifesto promise — worker-held permits tied to the individual rather than the employer — was not advanced by Coles himself during the 2022-2026 term; no proposition or written question from him on the matter was found. However, his Reform Jersey colleague Deputy Beatriz Porée lodged P.57/2026 in February 2026 on precisely this reform, and it passed 44-0 at the final sitting of the term, mandating a government feasibility review. That review outcome remains outstanding: as of August 2026, work permits are still issued in the employer's name under the Immigration (Work Permits) (Jersey) Rules 1995, and the upskilling/succession-planning element of Coles's promise has not been addressed by any identified policy action.

    Related votes (shown for context; too partial or indirect to count towards the score)

    • 19 Jul 2023·P.49/2023 — Entitlement to work – reduction in residency requirement. — Pour11-31

      Reducing the residency requirement for entitlement to work touches on workforce management and migration policy, related to the promise for a worker-held permit system.

    • 23 May 2023·P.20/2023 — Draft Control of Housing and Work (Residential and Employment Status) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 202- Principles — Pour46-0

      Amendments to the Control of Housing and Work regulations on residential and employment status touch on the permit/status framework that the promise seeks to reform.

Thomas Anthony Coles’s record changes with every States Assembly sitting. Follow us on LinkedIn and we will tell you when it does.

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