The appeal of feudal tendencies

Publication today of an offer by Sir David Barclay to buy the feudal lease of Sark and the title of Seigneur from the current incumbent for a total of £2m. is something of a bombshell – but then so is Michael Beaumont's conditional rejection of it.

In effect, Sir David is prepared to pay a considerable sum to wipe the feudal slate clean in the island and to walk away from having any influence in or over Chief Pleas: there we are, it's yours, run it as you see fit…

What makes the offer so fascinating is not that it has been made – it is in line with everything the Barclay family and the Sark Newsletter have been saying over the years – but the Seigneur's response to it.

Had he said that the lease was not and never would be for sale, then that would have ended the matter. Was his reply simply ill-considered? That seems unlikely given the time it took to respond and the likelihood that legal and other advice would have been taken.

Sark Newsletter believes it was merely a negotiating ploy, to leave the door open for a later date and perhaps ask for more money. Unless the Seigneur decides to comment, that must remain a moot point.

More significant, however, is the wider issue. If all Sark has ever wanted to do since the Barclay family arrived is simply to be left alone and do its own thing, then accepting the purchase offer would have enabled that. No more conflict.

In contrast, the Seigneur's recent suggestion that more land purchases by the Barclay family could trigger him offering the island to Guernsey would be positively detrimental to Sarkees, who would be exposed to 20p in the £ income tax and all of this island's mounting regulatory and bureaucratic tendencies and costs.

So in whose interests is he acting? The key is perhaps in his response's '…at the moment…' and his wish to remain in Sark. Those are personal reasons and not linked in any sense to the well-being of the community.

The other point is this: should the island ever become fully democratic, the influence of the Sark cabal is destroyed.

Which is why they wish to retain feudalism and are keen to persuade the Seigneur to hold on to power.