As one of Guernsey’s senior politicians confirms she is quitting the States, attention is being focused on what might come next for the island’s government.
Deputy Heidi Soulsby has announced she won’t be seeking re-election in June, holding to her personal held belief that three terms in office is enough for any politician.
Other long-serving politicians also expected to stand down this June include Peter Roffey and Lester Queripel.
Deputy Gavin St Pier has confirmed he is definitely standing – and he is involved with the Future Guernsey campaign as its Political Advisor.
A political organisation, definitely not a political party, Future Guernsey launched last year with a view to forming a manifesto for candidates in the June election to stand behind.
At its manifesto launch earlier this week, Future Guernsey confirmed some of its pledges ahead of the second island wide vote this summer.
Dubbed a ‘plan for Guernsey 2025-29 and beyond’ the Future Guernsey manifesto includes details on what the organisation intends to do to around housing, health services, and education.
Other areas of priority include the island’s efforts to decarbonise, streamlining government, and balancing the books.
One of the manifesto pledges includes looking at the way Guernsey taxes businesses – suggesting 0/10 could become 0/15.
Deputy St Pier acknowledged it’s something that has previously been mooted and he thinks it’s now time to look at it.
“Anyone who follows local news may recall that a local bank’s error in its tax computation has effectively required a tax refund of £29m. It seems this was because it had misallocated non-taxable business profits as taxable profit streams. If we move to align with Jersey’s system of taxing types of businesses rather than types of business profit, this will not happen again. Instead, we would raise more revenue without harming our competitive position one iota.
“The £29million figure from just one institution alone gives the public an idea of how much this fiscal policy might contribute to the island’s coffers. It’s just one proposal that shows the many benefits of getting local experts around a table to put forward deliverable and actionable plans, which – if adopted by candidates – will help Guernsey move forwards positively during the next political term.”
Parkinson and McKenna
Future Guernsey is not the only political organisation with taxes in its crosshairs.
Deputy Charles Parkinson has long been a proponent of changes to the island’s corporate tax system.
Ahead of the June election he has partnered with fellow Deputy Liam McKenna, with both calling for a “fairer tax system for Guernsey”.
Ultimately the States rejected his ideas and went with a GST+ package instead.
He and Deputy McKenna maintain that was the wrong decision and they want to work with other election candidates to try and bring about changes to the corporate tax system if they are re-elected in June.
“Last November, the states of Guernsey voted to introduce a Goods and Services Tax, a GST, which will hit everyone on this island, everything from housing and car sales to clothes and groceries would be impacted,” said Deputy Parkinson in a video shared to social media.
“It will push up the cost of living for families, for pensioners, for everyday workers, but while you’ll be paying more, most companies will continue to pay no tax on their profits. This is wrong, and Liam and I are here to say enough is enough.”
“We’re calling for an urgent reform of our corporate tax system before any new taxes are placed on local people,” said Deputy McKenna. “
It’s not fair and it’s not right. Why should hardworking families pay more while many companies pay no tax on their income at all? The election in June will be a critical turning point for our whole Island’s future. The new states of Guernsey will have a chance to reset this decision, to stop the GST from being introduced, and start putting our priorities in order.”
In order to achieve their aim of stopping GST from being introduced while reforming corporate taxation, Deputy Parkinson needs more political support behind him.
He said that he and Deputy McKenna are not looking to form a party but they do want to work with other candidates to build a ‘coalition’ of like minded people.
“We need more deputies in the states who are willing to stand up for local people and fight for a fair attack system. We’re not looking to form a political party. We’re building a coalition of candidates who believe in real, meaningful change for Guernsey. If you agree with us, if you believe that companies doing business on Guernsey should pay their fair share, then we want to hear from you together we can ensure our progress is powered by fairness, not burdened by unnecessary taxes.”
Vote4Guernsey
We’ve got a political coalition and a political organisation, and we’ve also got a political ‘charter’.
Vote4Guernsey is headed up by Deputy Bob Murray – who says it is not a political party, but a charter, that he is using to share his thoughts on the challenges facing Guernsey.
He wants to work with others to “move forward together…with far more knowledge about what we need to get done”.
Using his Vote4Guernsey website, Deputy Murray has listed the “10 priorities that, in my opinion, the new Assembly later this year is going to have to get to grips with, and quite urgently”.
He has shared multiple videos detailing some of the above priorities, aimed at the public and election candidates in particular “because they need to take on board the sorts of difficulties that they may be confronted with should they be successful enough to be elected,” he said.
Deputy Murray has served on the States senior committee since 2022 and said with that experience he has “got a better grasp of actually what the island is facing”.
He is also looking to hear from like-minded candidates to “perhaps move forward together when we have the new election with far more knowledge about what we need to get done”.
Other candidates
Other candidates – not yet identified as being part of any political organisation, coalition, or charter – include Jayne Ozanne, Charlie Edwards, and David Reed.
Each have independently declared their intention to stand for election, using social media platforms to make their announcements.
Guernsey’s second fully island wide election is due to be held on 18 June.
In person voting will take place on that date and ahead of it at assigned ‘super-polling stations’.
Postal votes will be delivered in early June.
For those considering standing as a candidate, the nomination period opens on 12 May, at 09.00. It then closes a short while after, on 14 May at 16.00.
Voters have until 30 April 2025 to register, and although online registration is encouraged as it is quicker and more efficient, the States has delivered registration forms to all households.
You can find out all the details and get yourself signed up at the 2025 Election website HERE.