Views
What next
I see the election as an “interview” of candidates for this very important role of Peoples Deputy.
I will have to succeed in that “interview” to be appointed to the position and, of course, during that campaign, will promote my suitability for the role, but for me, the last two and a half years have been about preparing for the work after election.
I think it is a weakness of our election process that there is no requirement for even a basic understanding of the large amount of effort that is required from a Deputy to serve the people of Guernsey properly.
No where else would you apply for a job of this importance without training and without being well informed about what is expected of you.
I have spent the last 30 months training, researching the role and following the debates in the Chamber.
Women in Public Life with Shelaine Green and her team have given me that training to ensure that I am well prepared and my skill-set and experience is highly relevant to the work required to be effective.
What has this training looked like?
Over the last 30 months I have followed most of the key debates and Women in Public Life have supplied me with links to many sources of further information.
I have attended Politics Live monthly sessions ( sessions that I asked Women in Public Life for). This has been a group of politically interested people putting forward views and discussing the issues being debated in the Chamber. Each session has been summarised with a vote on the issues discussed.
I have also been given an opportunity to practice public speaking and to present a mock requête.
Through listening to guest speakers including retired Deputies and key civil servants working with the politicians, I have learnt a great deal and feel confident that I have a clear understanding of the role I am standing to be elected to.
My strength is my ability to problem solve, not just identify and grumble about issues, but to work on solutions.
I have been very successful with this throughout my professional life for individuals and now would like to put this skill to work for the community as a whole.
Here I expand on my key political interests as listed in my manifesto and also what I see as priorities for the next 4 years.
Housing
I have as much physical knowledge of Guernsey’s housing as almost anyone else, having worked my entire career in people’s homes, averaging 6-8 visits a day for 21 years as a health visitor and several a week as a family support coordinator for the charity Wigwam, visiting a wide variety of buildings and other structures (boats, the occasional tent) which people call home. I am privileged to have had an overview of the people of Guernsey, Alderney, Herm, Brecqou and Jethou, from the richest to the poorest and everyone in between.
I have also liaised and supported people using the island’s agencies and have networked extensively to be able to sign post people to the correct place for help, e.g. families taking their accommodation issues to the Cadastre, remonstrating with slum landlords and helping families to get rehoused, helping people with States transfers and finding adapted housing for people with disabilities.
Guernsey is in a much better position than the UK because we haven’t sold off our social housing, either States housing or GHA housing. The housing stock we have is in good condition. You will hear people expressing their frustration that States houses are left empty when there are so many on the waiting list, but the truth is that those empty houses are waiting to be modernized and brought up to an acceptable standard of repair before being let out.
The fact that States houses are often let out without carpets and adequate floor covering is a weakness in this system which I raised with the Housing department last year. They assured me that to remove all carpets from a house before leaving it is not a Housing policy, but States houses were still being let to new tenants without any carpets last year to my certain knowledge.
I put forward that all States housing should be let fully carpeted or with appropriate floor coverings and it was taken forward by the Director of Housing for discussion with the relevant Committees, including the policy and resources committee because of the cost involved. I am waiting to hear the result of that discussion.
Housing, along with ratifying the tax system is our top priority for the next term.
House prices and rents are now so high that even skilled people earning a middle income are struggling to afford anywhere to live and they are earning too much to be eligible for States housing and GHA housing. Without support, many of Guernsey’s young people will be forced to look for work and residency in other countries.
Many desperately want to stay and it will be incumbent on the next session of the States to look at ways to make this a possibility. Guernsey is their home. They need the support of their families around them as they embark on careers and have families of their own. They are working for the prosperity of the island.
As a general rule, roles working with people (e.g. nurses, police, social workers) are poorly paid compared with jobs working with money and related businesses, but these roles are vital to everyone’s health and wellbeing.
Many finance and business jobs can be done from home or anywhere (my nephew worked for a Guernsey based insurance company from a van traveling around the UK for a year), whereas we need those who work with people to live in the island. At the moment it is becoming increasingly difficult for those people to stay here.
When our young people move away, they will be taking their training, skills and experience too, leaving Guernsey to have to buy in the services it needs. They will also be paying tax elsewhere.
On the other hand, families on middle incomes who do stay, risk living in “housing poverty” with their housing costs leaving them without enough money for the essentials, e.g. food, transport, etc.
Obviously, the housing crisis won’t be resolved with one policy but with a whole raft of measures.
I would like to be part of a team of Deputies and other experts exploring this further and getting some of these ideas researched, passed and implemented.
For example, one such measure is the issue of key worker housing. I use the one example of teachers, although this includes many other roles in the service sector and beyond.
At the moment, we have a shortage of teachers so are recruiting from outside the Bailiwick.
Teachers coming in from out of the island are given a resettlement package which includes having their rent subsidized for 4 years. This means that they can rent accommodation for 4 years, with a hefty subsidy. So, a teacher renting a flat for £2000 will pay around half of that and the States will pick up the rest.
Our locally trained teachers don’t have access to this subsidy so have to leave the island in search of a job where they can afford accommodation.
Then we have to employ non-local teachers to fill the vacancies left and subsidize them with thousands of pounds a year. This is a heart-breaking situation for the local community.
This policy was put in place to attract teachers to work here but has had the unintentional consequence of contributing to pushing up rents as landlords are able to find tenants who can pay high rents with their government subsidy – market forces at work. At the end of the subsidy period, the teacher can’t afford local prices, returns to the UK and a new teacher is appointed with the next 4 year subsidy. Expensive and hugely disruptive to the education of our children.
A possible solution that I would like to explore further is that more key worker housing is built as is current policy, and then that accommodation is associated with the job, as police houses used to be and vicarages still are. This would mean locally trained teachers could take local jobs.
This accommodation would have to be two bedded apartments at the very least for families, but also with the ability for two people to share for half rent each.
As a long term plan, if applied to all roles which currently attract a subsidy, this would also have the consequence of reducing the pool of people able to pay the high rents and market forces would mean that rents in general would come down.
Health
It is undeniable that during the next term, some hard decisions are going to have to be made around health because we simply can’t afford our health system as it is.
There is also health inequality, as those who can afford health insurance can visit their GP as needed and access early operations but those who can’t struggle to pay increasing GP fees and often in considerable pain, suffer to wait.
For these people early intervention and detection of serious health conditions is much less likely as they put off seeing their GP until symptoms become bad.
New treatments are being developed all the time. Some drugs which work very well have to reclaim their development costs in the first few years so are extremely expensive.
Health issues are a source of high anxiety.
When unpopular decisions are made or a treatment is denied, there is a public outcry, and some decisions are reversed.
I understand that. If I, or more particularly one of my family members, was denied medical intervention that would prolong life or keep them out of pain, I would do everything I could to get the decision reversed.
I also understand that every medical professional is passionate about their speciality and will be pushing for their treatments to be available to their patients.
But - limits have to be set as the cost of health care is increasing all the time.
I would see it as my responsibility, if elected, to thoroughly read and examine all the objective evidence, checking the sources of that evidence, and in each case, make decisions based on that. I think that this is the safest way to proceed as it is such an emotive area.
Obviously, some subjective evidence will be relevant, but I think that we will have to be wary of basing decisions on one off stories. Every case is deserving of the best health care and that is always the aim when looking at a health care system but with dwindling resources, we cannot afford to be paralysed by indecision at this point from trying to be all things to all people.
In addition, before we adopt new technology or new treatments on island, very careful analysis must be made as to whether, not only can we afford the technology, but also the staffing , maintenance, training etc that go along side it.
Environment
There is no doubt that pollution of our planet and the resulting global warming is the fault of the activity of the human race. We in Guernsey can only take responsibility for our own actions and look to counter this as much as possible.
The argument that you hear is “We are a small island and if big countries don’t consider the environment, we won’t make a difference”. This is flawed thinking.
Of course we will make a difference. Clean air, clean water, clean beaches benefit everyone and adopting environmentally safe practices can be an example to other jurisdictions. That is why I feel strongly that the environmental impact should be considered in everything we do, in every law and every policy that the Committees debate.
A measure of environmental impact could be introduced as standard to every policy letter. Some policies will have no impact or positive impact but some, particularly building and energy considerations will have a negative impact.
In these cases, understanding that by their nature they do have high impact, the project must then be assessed as to what could be done to reduce this – materials used, etc.
There are a whole range of measures, some that are already in place, some that will attract serious opposition, that we can adopt. They just need to be well coordinated.
We have already seen how effective this can be with the introduction of kerb side recycling. I was pretty good at taking to the recycling banks before that measure was introduced but now recycling is a habit. It just feels wrong to put recyclable rubbish in the general waste. A cultural change has taken place.
The same culture shift is seen in picking up dog poo. When I was a child there was dog poo everywhere, especially on pavements. Now most dog owners wouldn’t dream of not picking this up and the States make it easy by supplying dog poo bins in dog walking areas.
I think that there are other things that we can introduce that, over time, can alter how we view our environmental responsibility, particularly around traffic flow and alternative transport, to significantly reduce our pollution levels.
An example of a measure already in place, is the introduction of cycle lanes around St Sampsons school and a change in traffic flow. It was done as a safety measure for children but works well, safe for cyclists and not much hold up for cars. It has reduced the slow crawl after a bike that causes more pollution and stress.
These are examples of how, with an environmental consideration attached to every change we make, we can seek to limit what damage we do in Guernsey to our environment and take responsibility for the safety of our island.
Tax
This has to be increased. It is undoubtedly true that we have a financial gap between what we are getting in and what we are spending. So, we have to act now otherwise it will be like watching a credit card debit increase year on year that our children will have to pay.
As to which system we adopt, I haven’t had the resources to look at this in the depth I would need if I was voting on the issue. If elected, this is research that I would have to do, but I have formed a general over view from attending presentations, looking at some projections and some reading.
The issues for me are, would any system we adopt a) raise enough money and b) be able to be increased if there is a need in the future to raise more tax?
Some ideas, such as paid parking, won’t raise enough on their own and some, like business taxes, may make us uncompetitive for the finance industry. We need to protect that at all costs as it is our main industry. The finance industry can close its Guernsey centres and move to more favourable jurisdictions if we stop being competitive. And they won’t come back.
Looking at the projections and listening to experts in the field, and just to emphasize that I would research this much more deeply if elected, it looks to come down to either; a) raising income taxes directly with or without a banding system, so taking tax before income is spent or; b) a goods and services tax which is taking taxes while income is spent.
It does seem to me though, that both systems as been presented to the public, have considered people on low incomes and certain adjustments being made. Which ever system is put it place will have its detractors.
What is certain is the next session of the States needs to vote the new system in as quickly as possible, and to vote on the evidence and information collected which created the tax packages that were presented this term.
There may be a cry of the over cautious of “we need more information before we decide” but that is just stalling things. A definition of stupidity would be to do the same research again and expect a different result. It would simply delay moving on to securing Guernsey’s future.
So we do need to consider the work that has been done and, after reviewing the evidence that led to that decision, progress the tax package that has been agreed.
What isn’t being talked about though is that the two different ways of taxing people have almost opposite issues associated with them .
If we implement options which have at their source GST, we will be putting in place a system that will be hard to implement but when up and running, will tax everyone including visitors and the very wealthy, proportionate to the amount that is spent.
If we implement options which have at their source income tax, we will be putting in place a system that will be much easier to implement but which will be taking tax from a much narrower band of tax payers, for instance, in the case of income tax rises, I won’t be paying much extra tax because I don’t have much of an income as a pensioner.
Like many people of my generation, we have an occupation pension and a State pension and also, because we could, most of us put a bit away each month into our savings. We are also the generation who have had a lump sum when we retired and also may well have inherited money as our parents passed on, without paying inheritance tax. We have paid off our low mortgages which were only a couple of times our salary anyway when they were set up. We won’t be taxed on money we spend from our savings, and our income from pensions when you take into account personal allowances, is relatively low.
So who will pay it?
Younger generations than me who are working. The people who will be hard hit are the twenty to forty year olds with huge mortgages or high rent, who are often also providing for children and who are now paying secondary pensions. They will see the amount on their payslip drop. Their increased taxes will be used to fund, amongst everything else, health care which we the older generation will be consuming at an increasing rate but not paying for.
However, the alternative GST is no walk in the park . We will all be involved in paying it, the wealthy more than the poor as they have more disposable income to buy things. There will have to be a lot of work to put it in place . Government would have to employ advisers to help small businesses without an IT department or staff to implement it, and to teach people how to fill out their GST returns . It will be an upheaval. I remember when VAT, which is GST with a different name, was introduced in the UK . It took a while to settle down .
We will see that new goods and services will be 5% more expensive . The cost of living will go up.
However, that being said, if elected and I get a chance to work with professionals to unpick the details of the tax packages already put together from hundreds of hours of research and projections, I will make sure I have done the work to be able to vote responsibly. I accept that whatever the outcome, and whichever system we adopt, a section of society won’t be happy.
How I would tackle the role of Deputy if elected.
When I started telling people that I was going to stand for election, almost everyone replied using variations of “We need someone sensible in the States”.
I was disappointed.
I had hoped for “Glamour.”
I got “Sensible” time and time again.
Then I realised that sensible is what I am – and that that is a good thing.
Sensible is safe. Sensible is strong. Sensible is indeed what we need in Deputies making decisions that affect us all.
To me, the election and electioneering is an interview for this job, and I have, as for any interview, prepared, because I need to present myself well to be elected.
However, I have spent much more time learning about the role and how to actually work effectively and make fair decisions. I have never, and would never, apply for a job unless I was certain I could do it well.
In nursing there is a saying “Everyone is equal in pyjamas” and we do treat everyone with equal care. When in St Thomas’ Hospital with Covid, Boris Johnston would have been cared for exactly the same way as a tramp or a criminal in the next bed. It’s what we do.
Over the last 40 years, working with people, two things have been ingrained in me.
I should treat everybody with the same level of respect.
Every decision I make must be based on evidence, not on my personal bias.
If elected, this is the attitude I will bring to the role of Deputy.
My training with Women in Public Life has led me to consider how to manage the huge body of information and evidence that a Deputy has to work with. One sitting Deputy told me he has up to 1000 emails a week. I have since been told that this was an exaggeration but undoubtedly there is a great deal to get through.
I have always worked as a lone worker both as health visitor and while developing Wigwam. I am used to a great deal of administration and keeping abreast of current information. However, I always need to order information and evidence to consider it effectively.
If elected as a Deputy, I will primarily identify the objective data and good subjective data.
In order to assess impact effectively and how I vote on issues, I will use these three criteria.
1. The ethical business model - The Greatest Good for the greatest number.
2. The ethical individual model – The Greatest Good for those most in need.
3. The long-term model- The Greatest Good for the Island.
Then I will be able to weigh up which is most important for a particular issue.
We all have strongly held views, and I think using a model like this will help to reduce my personal bias.
I am very aware that for every issue there will be exceptions. Where some will win, others will lose. It’s what we cope with in our daily lives. I would always look to minimise the losses but will beware of exceptions becoming too persuasive. Outliers as I call them. Every decision will have people who think differently.
How often have you heard “Air travel is safe”? “No, it’s not, my Auntie fell out of a plane so it’s not”. You can’t make good decisions in aviation by factoring in Auntie and you can’t make good decisions in government by trying to legislate for every exception.
The other promise I make would be that whatever the personal loss of face for me, if in debate I hear new evidence or a more persuasive argument that, if I were to change my vote would give a better outcome to the people of Guernsey, I will change to the better plan.
I will always have in mind to work for the best possible way forward for the people of Guernsey, Alderney and our other islands.
So, in conclusion, a vote for me won’t get you drama, it won’t get you everything for everyone, and sadly, it won’t get you glamour. It will get you hard work and preparation. It will get you safe, it will get you strong and it will get you sensible.