Guernsey’s top politician has sharply rejected claims that the island’s civil service is driving policy, claiming that deputies – not unelected officials – are firmly in control.
Responding to suggestions that senior bureaucrats were driving the agenda, Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez said: “What an odd suggestion! Policy is driven by politicians, not civil servants.”
The comments from the President of Policy and Resources come on the back of a growing backbench rebellion over the latest tax reform proposals.
Several deputies had questioned the numbers underpinning the reforms in an explosive set of emails seen by Express.
Deputy Mark Helyar said politicians had repeatedly been told by civil servants that “demographics are to blame [for the rise in health spending] and it is accepted as gospel but the numbers do not support this”.
He also questioned why P&R was pushing forward with tax reforms without a States Treasurer, adding: “No serious organisation would undertake such a serious revision of tax or finances without a CFO.”
Deputy de Sausmarez said the proposals were “those of the Policy & Resources Committee”, noting that the committee had drawn on a wide range of internal and external expertise to shape the package.
“It’s important to bear in mind that the role of civil servants is to support politicians in developing their policies, and then to implement decisions agreed by the States.”
Public suspicion
The debate touches on a long-standing grievance among sections of the Guernsey public and some political backbenchers, who frequently allege that Frossard House officials hold too much sway over the island’s direction.
The sentiment is highly visible across local social media platforms, where the upcoming GST debate has reignited distrust over who is genuinely pulling the strings.
I firmly believe the States is being ruled by the faceless power-hungry bureaucrats in the civil service
Facebook User
One local Facebook user said they believed Guernsey was being run by “faceless power-hungry bureaucrats in the civil service”.
Others have questioned the States’ willingness to rein in spending, with one social media commentator calling for an end to the “gravy train”.
‘No room to delay’
Deputy de Sausmarez insisted that the advice given to the P&R committee had been entirely consistent across multiple financial advisors, past and present.
“All of the input from States’ Treasurers past and present has been consistent in respect of the need to act,” she said, warning that Guernsey’s financial reserves were on track to be fully exhausted by 2031 if structural changes were not made.
“The idea that any advisor would recommend delay is totally inconsistent with all professional advice taken into account in the shaping of these proposals, and the body of evidence built up over the course of two decades of working on this issue.”
With July’s critical tax debate looming, P&R’s message remains clear: the committee is unified behind the controversial tax package, and the responsibility for its success or failure lies squarely with the politicians.
