McDowall becomes Policy and Finance chairman
ROBERT MCDOWALL ousted Neil Harvey from chairmanship of the Policy and Finance Committee at the first Alderney States meeting of the year.
Mr McDowall, who became a States member in 2012, has ruled out standing for re-election in November and said his bid for leadership stemmed from a desire to give the island 'a larger measure of financial confidence in itself' before he left.
Mr McDowall received votes from Louis Jean, Graham McKinley, Steve Roberts, Francis Simonet and Ian Tugby. Mr Harvey won votes from Matt Birmingham, Norma Paris and Chris Rowley.
With a strong background in finance – he is the director of a tax- structuring business in Guernsey and commentator and consultant on economic trends – it was Mr McDowall who overhauled the States pension scheme and drove the Alderney element of the recent review on the financial relationship between Alderney and Guernsey.
The changes to that relationship, if approved by the Guernsey States, would have a lasting impact, he said, and he believed he was the right person to steer their implementation.
