The President of Guernsey’s Chamber of Commerce has announced that he intends to stand as a Deputy in April’s by-election.
Stephen Rouxel has “recused himself” of all his Chamber of Commerce duties after declaring his candidacy.
Mr Rouxel, who lives in St Peter Port, said he would attend “as many hustings events as his rehearsal schedule” for an upcoming production of Hunchback of Notre Dame “will allow”.
He said he “came to the conclusion that if I want to see any of the – admittedly radical –
economic policy ideas I think are necessary to improve the business environment,
increase the purchasing power of money in the pocket of the Guernsey people, job
prospects for our kids and general economic stability, I need to change the political
dialogue”.
“The best way to do that seemed to me to publish a manifesto, show the electorate I have something worth saying, win the election, and then persuade the 37 Deputies (and two Alderney representatives) already in the house that the ideas are winners,” he added.
Mr Rouxel’s announcement comes days after former deputy Carl Meerveld became the first person to announce their intention to stand.
Public drop-ins
Mr Rouxel said he intends to run a series of drop-in events at “local coffee houses and pubs” for islanders who want to”debate political, philosophical and economic topics”.
A spokesperson said, “Stephen intends to record these encounters, with only him visible if there is no consent from the other party to be filmed, and post these to his website with extracts on his Facebook and LinkedIn timelines.”
“If the gatherings become too large for establishments due to popularity, a nice problem to have, Stephen will start to arrange venues with proprietors management teams in advance.”
Dates for the drop-ins will be published on Mr Rouxel’s website, once it its completed, along with a manifesto.
Mr Rouxel – whose ex-wife Deputy Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel is President of the States’ Assembly & Constitution Committee – will “detail his conflicts of interest and his strategies for managing them”, the spokesperson said.