'Poor leadership pulls rug from under the States'

SOME two years into his first – and it seems only – term of office and Tony Spruce is a disillusioned figure. The result of the waste debate, where he feels some flip-flopping members of the Policy Council and Public Services pulled the rug from under his feet, might have been the fruition of this, but it is something for which the seeds have been sown long before.

The problem, as Deputy Spruce and others see it, comes from a lack of leadership from the top.

'The worrying thing for me is the fact that the three most senior members of the Policy Council – the chief minister, deputy chief minister and Treasury minister, fail to follow through on their own mantra – the need to be disciplined as a government, the need to think strategically, and the need to control costs,' he said.

He cited two major examples where senior members' actions have not matched their own rhetoric.

'The Education Department's primary schools closure plan was a prime example, savings were available but they did not vote for them,' said Deputy Spruce.

'And more recently the waste debate, when not only did the top three, but also two other Policy Council members, vote to overturn the previous year's decision, but they reversed the decisions they had made on two previous occasions, in spite of the financial and reputational damage that would follow.'

During the primary school closures debate, Deputy Parkinson voted to keep St Andrew's open and Deputy Trott to save both, although Deputy Flouquet wanted both closed.'The airport firefighters' dispute is another example where the stated government policy was to contain pay awards to below RPI, but a majority of the Policy Council caved in within a few hours of the dispute starting.

'How can they expect ordinary members of the Assembly to take any notice of strategic planning, and good governance, when they ignore their own rules.'

Deputy Spruce said he was not making a case for a vote of no confidence in the ministers, indeed, some have already questioned who would be there to replace them.

He resigned from the Public Sector Remuneration Committee on the back of ministers' actions on the airport firefighters dispute, and has just handed in his resignation letter for Public Services after watching the department's once firm position in favour of Suez evaporate in debate. Some might accuse him of not being suited to the rough and tumble of politics, but he rejected that suggestion.

Deputy Spruce's position has changed pretty dramatically from last year.

He spoke of 2009 being a good year with the foundations being set with reports like capital prioritisation, the fundamental spending review and States strategic plan being put in place.

'I can't tell you the amount of time I spent going to presentations last year, reading paperwork, agreeing all these key proposals. Well, the rule book doesn't count, the principles don't count because even the top Policy Council people are ignoring the decisions we made,' he said.

Capital prioritisation had put the waste project at the front of the queue.

Deputy Spruce says the whole civil service was working towards these goals the States agreed, only for members to decide to go off in a new direction at the last minute.

'I retired four years ago after a successful business career and stood at the last election primarily to contribute, to put something back really. I hoped that my previous experience could be brought to bear within the States.'

But there was early disappointment for someone with 40 years' experience in the energy industry when he was rejected for a seat on the energy policy working group with no explanation from the politician in charge – Deputy Parkinson.

'I suppose it's been a series of knockbacks ever since then. It's the illogical way things happen, there's not team spirit in the States, whether within the department or whole body politic – it's all personal agendas,' said Deputy Spruce.

'Coming from my background, we used to have huge debate at board level, but once a decision was made, we all went forward, stuck to it, and made it work. That's just not the case in the States, that's why everything takes so long to achieve.'It was frustrating that there were more people with a negative approach to things than a positive one, he said.

'I was pleased to get on PSD. The professionalism of the staff is first class. I don't know how they stay motivated given what they have to deal with politically.'

He wants to see the waste strategy taken forward by a different body, maybe a working party bringing together deputies from different sides of the debate.

The Public Services board under Deputy Flouquet does not have the credibility to form the new strategy, he said.

For Deputy Spruce it will be a case of concentrating on his role as deputy minister at Education.

'I was voted in for four years, I will still approach being a deputy in a professional way until the end of my term. I'm interested in my position with Education and will work on that as hard as I can.'

As a deputy you got very little credit and a lot of criticism, he said. 'That would be OK if I thought we were achieving something, OK if the people who have a strategy for the States followed though with their own policies, but when they don't, you wonder what you are achieving.

'The truth of the matter is that it's very small gains for a lot of work. Politics is enjoying and challenging, I enjoy a lot of the issues because you realise you are voting on things that will affect a lot of people. I like that bit of it, but it's the lack of leadership.'

If there is any worse indictment of the States it is one of the last things Deputy Spruce said when asked if that lack of direction and leadership would damage Guernsey. 'I think we are successful despite our government, to be truthful.'