At least two candidates appeared before two different audiences as the hustings got underway ahead of Guernsey’s general election.
Current deputies Tina Bury and Aidan Matthews both answered questions with an environmental slant at Les Beaucamps before heading to the Vale Douzaine to appear at a hustings featuring other candidates grouped together under a ‘fair tax’ banner.
Voters in the Vale questioned eight candidates in total on a number of topics including whether Guernsey has a housing crisis or a population crisis.
Former deputy Brian Gabriel put it to the panel that the current States has lost the trust of the people and asked what has been achieved over the past five years since they were elected.
Deputy Bury said the failures have been around a lack of collaboration during the current term of office, and other challenges including covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
She said there have been successes though, including around the updating of legislation concerning domestic abuse.
Deputy John Dyke said he doesn’t believe the current States has been the worst ever, and he also believes there has been some very good success stories in what has been achieved including agreeing the new ferry contract.
New candidate Kerensa Gardner acknowledged that she was not in the current States, but she said that the new States will need to work together with synergy across committees, and show an understanding that everything connects with everything else and the States must stop making decisions in isolation of others.
Deputy Marc Leadbeater said the problems – and achievements – experienced by the current States were all instigated by the previous States. He said the housing and population crises are examples of long term issues that need addressing and aren’t new problems. “It remains to be seen whether the work that this assembly has done is going to be beneficial or not,” he said.
Deputy Matthews said he feels this has been “a very bad States” and he wanted to apologise to the electorate. He also said some of the divisions within the States can be attributed to the loss of electoral districts which fostered collaborative working. He said the current States have worked hard but they need to “do better and have more cooperation next time”.
New candidate George Oswald said his work on HSC with sitting politicians has given him an insight into how the States works and “most of then are working assiduously and hard and in difficult circumstances trying to produce results for people”.
“I think there is a way forward here with consensual working,” he said.
Deputy Charles Parkinson agreed with Mr Gabriel, that most people in Guernsey will be disappointed with the current States and how little has been achieved.
“That is partly because it’s been a very divided States and the working relationship within the assembly has sometimes been toxic. I’m hoping the next States will be able to move on from that because we’ll achieve far more if we work together towards common goals,” he said.
Deputy Chris Blin also said that a lot of the work achieved by the States was started by the prior cohort, and that a lot of the work he and his colleagues have done will start to show results over the coming years.
The moderator, Andrew Ozanne asked for a show of hands from the audience if people felt that this was “the worst States ever”.
A majority of people present raised their hands.
The following question concerned justice, the local rate of imprisonment, and whether the island’s criminal justice system needs a review.
The numbers given surprised some of the candidates with a lack of knowledge admitted with regards to Guernsey’s rate of imprisonment compared to elsewhere.
Those candidates who were surprised said they would endeavour to find out more, while others – including current deputies Leadbeater, Matthews, and Parkinson – expressed a desire for Guernsey to update its justice systems regarding when convictions become spent, the length sentences for child sex offences, and further relaxation of the laws around cannabis respectively.