A ‘Motion of No Confidence’ in Sark’s Policy & Finance Committee was unsuccessful with a majority of Chief Pleas supporting them instead.
The debate on Wednesday evening saw the island’s senior political committee survive, and members later confirmed their ongoing focus on resolving the challenges around its high electricity prices and related outdated infrastructure.
Speaking on Thursday morning, Conseiller John Guille; Chair of P&F said putting Sark’s electricity supply into community ownership remains the will of the people.
“Last night’s vote against the Motion showed the strong will of the house, which in turn reflected the overwhelming support from the community.
“Members of the Committe and other Conseillers have been grateful for the countless messages and gestures of support they have received in the past week.
“We need stable government so we can deliver the changes that the people of Sark want, such as a safe and secure community owned electricity system.”
The efforts to buy the privately owned Sark Electricity Ltd – which could result in compulsary purchase against the current owners wishes – had been a factor in the decision of other members of Chief Pleas to try and force out P&F.
The Motion of No Confidence was brought by Conseillers Scott Sullivan, Mary Nicolle, Steve Lord, Frank Makepeace, Christopher Kennedy-Barnard, Ben Harris, and Marcus Barker.
Conseiller Kennedy-Barnard has previously spoken about his opposition to the compulsory purchase of SEL. He holds concerns about Sark taking out a loan from the States of Guernsey to buy the utility – fearing for the implications that could have in the future.
During Wednesday evening’s meeting of Chief Pleas, Conseiller Kennedy-Barnard referenced recent bad feeling between politicians in the island. He then referenced witch hunts and Nazism in his call for everyone to work together peacefully.
He said he had no confidence in P&F because of the lack of an economic plan for the island, and that’s also why he doesn’t support the purchase of SEL. He also cited concerns over the high turnover of civil service staff in Sark.
“My reasons for signing are as follows, we have no economic plan. This has rumbled on for years, largely unaddressed, and despite a letter from his Excellency, the Lieutenant Governor, months ago, we have not acted or taken one significant step towards this.
“There is nothing more urgent or pressing than reviving the failing economy. It is the shared responsibility of Policy and Finance, revenue generation must be at the forefront of our tasks, and yet we are thinking about taking on debt. It’s analogous to a person on the verge of bankruptcy taking a payday loan.
“I’m deeply concerned that we’ve lost three civil servants in three years. If it happened once, it could be bad luck, but three times is a correlation. We do not know how to manage the staff, or have little experience across the committee in this field. If any company was losing a Chief Executive once a year, you’d be asking questions of those who hired them and handled the situation. It’s not good enough.
“There needs to be a change for those of you reading the news, we lost the case earlier this year, which could end up costing the island a fortune. It could be crippling to the Sark government. The court papers indicate that we were not looking for a fair outcome. Following that, we have a huge risk of legal action against us from our energy provider, will the situation cost us dearly? What I can see repeatedly is a failure of diplomacy, a failure of negotiation, a failure to seek fair and equitable outcomes, a failure to forecast where decisions take us.”
Ultimately the vote went in P&F’s favour though, with 10 of the 17 members of Chief Pleas present voting against the Motion of No Confidence.
Five voted for it, and two members asbtained.
Of the seven members who brought the Motion of No Confidence against P&F, five of them voted for it and two of them were the ones who abstained.
The votes
Contre: Jolie Rose, John Guille, Helen Plummer, Carol Cragoe, Mike Locke, Nathalie Tighe, Chris Bateson, David Curtis, Edric Baker MBE, Jimmy Martin.
Pour: Christopher Kennedy-Barnard, Marcus Barker, Ben Harris, Mary Nicolle, Frank Makepeace.
Abstain: Scott Sullivan, Steve Lord.