Guernsey Press

‘I only want to vote for what is right’

ALDERNEY representative Louis Jean has distanced himself from suggestions that he and his Alderney colleague actively cancel out each other’s votes in the States of Guernsey.

Published
Alderney representatives Louis Jean, left, and Graham McKinley. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 21598539)

Graham McKinley came under fire on Facebook last week after saying that the two Alderney reps ‘either abstain from voting or cancel each other out’ on matters which ‘relate solely to Guernsey’.

He has stood by those comments. However, his colleague Louis Jean strenuously denied voting in such a way.

‘If he has been doing that then he hasn’t been doing it with my cooperation,’ he said.

‘It is completely up to my colleague to decide how to conduct himself [in the States chamber], but I am completely the opposite. I would never wish to be known as voting in that way.

‘There would be no point of us even coming to a meeting if we voted like that.

‘I only want to vote for what is right.

‘I use my vote fairly and squarely and vote for what I think is best for Alderney, Guernsey and the Bailiwick as a whole.

‘I always do that and I have always been like that.’

Mr McKinley said there was no formal agreement between the pair, but reiterated his comment that the two Alderney reps considered a matter’s relevance to the northern isle.

‘We have been quite heavily criticised by some deputies in the past for voting on things that don’t have anything to do with us and that have no financial implications on Alderney,’ he said.

‘[Because of that] on those cases we tend to vote one way or another or abstain.’