Deputies who voted for GST are said to be facing unprecedented levels of abuse.
Before, and since Friday’s landmark vote to endorse a previous States’ decision to reform tax policies, passionate protestors have made their feelings clear on the introduction of a goods and services tax.
Since the vote late on Friday, a number of businesses owners have banned the 22 deputies who backed Policy and Resources plans.
Anti-GST Deputy Rob Curgenven has appealed to protestors to not attack his colleagues or their families.
“Please, don’t make it personal,” he urged.
“The majority of the deputies genuinely, genuinely believe that they’re doing the right thing for the people, whether you disagree with them or not. And I don’t think it’s fair to personally attack them, and certainly not their family. Please, please keep them and their family out of it.”
Two other deputies have used social media to clarify what they voted for after “misleading and inaccurate information” was shared.
Deputy Tina Bury said that it is has been “an unfortunate but prominent feature of the Tax Reform debate”.
She wanted to make clear that although she had supported the Forward Guernsey amendment which might see GST rise to 5% within four years of being introduced, she did not back P&R’s Tax Reform package, ultimately rejecting GST in the final vote.
Earlier in the debate, Deputy Andy Cameron had to clarify what he had voted for and why, after he also supported the Forward Guernsey amendment.
Both Deputy Cameron and Deputy Bury said they backed the amendment’s aims of ensuring safeguards and support for younger people, first-time home buyers, and less well off families.
Both voted against P&R’s tax plan in the final vote – which included the option of increasing the rate of GST in the future.
The full voting records can be found HERE.
As the debate reached its conclusion on Friday, feelings continued to grow with one high-profile include leading to a Code of Conduct complaint against Deputy Neil Inder.
He gave a “generic finger” gesture at protesters outside the Royal Court on Friday morning after being sworn at as he and another Deputy entered the building.
In a statement shared via Facebook he warned that “the level of abuse being waged by online campaigners and their leads is going to get a politician hurt at some point”.
“I’ve experienced a number of physical threats and incidents over the last year are so which are directly related to social media output,” he added.
He issued his statement before the final vote on P&R’s Tax Reform package, which he abstained on.
Speaking exclusively to Express, a woman admitted she had aimed a very strong swear word at Deputy Inder as he entered the building, while she was remonstrating with him about P&R’s tax proposals.
However, she still felt Deputy Inder’s response was inappropriate, calling on him to be “thicker-skinned” as deputy.
Now in his third term in office, Deputy Inder suggested the level of abuse deputies receive has grown – a claim echoed by both current and former politicians.
In the past, some deputies have had excrement left on their doorsteps, been accused of being sex offenders, and their children have been targeted with abuse while at school.
Express has asked Guernsey Police to confirm if any recent complaints have been made concerning abuse of island politicians.
