‘Voice of the working poor in Guernsey is not being heard’
A GROWING divide between the island’s have and have-nots was highlighted on BBC national radio at the weekend.
During the live broadcast of BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions from St James on Friday evening, social justice and equality campaigner Jayne Ozanne expressed her concerns about the rising cost of living and her fears that the rich were getting richer while the poor were getting poorer.
‘We see that here on the island in a microcosm.
‘As that gap widens, the risk of social unrest increases, and that’s why we in Guernsey and the UK need to look at how we support the poor and the working poor, how do we ensure we become a fairer society where that gap can be closed, at least if we start talking about it.
‘We’ve got a lot of hidden poverty here, we’ve got a lot of shame that stops people going forward.
‘A lot of people in power don’t quite know what it is always to have nothing in the fridge, to have children at school whose classmates have got an awful lot more than they have.
‘We’ve got no voice for those who really struggle.
‘I fear the voice of the working poor in Guernsey is not being heard and I hope that’s what will happen with a new party system where you will hear the needs of those who are using the food banks, who really struggle.’
The debate threatened to get heated with Chief Minister Peter Ferbrache complaining of a ‘cheap shot’ against deputies and denying claims that the States was not doing enough in this area.
‘In Guernsey we’re not perfect, we’ve got the rich and the poor, but I know every single States member, whatever view they may take, is concerned about the poor in Guernsey and is doing their absolute best to attenuate it.’
He accepted that globally the divisions between rich and poor had grown too quickly and that Guernsey’s ability to tackle ‘corrosive’ inflation was very limited.
‘Guernsey can do its bit by encouraging initiative, by helping the poor as best it can, providing for its people as it can.
‘This is a very caring and decent society.’
The debate moved to the island’s social benefit system, which locally-born Ms Ozanne, who now lives in one of the deprived areas of Oxford, said was ‘far worse’ than in the UK and said those on less than £27,000 a year would be better off in England than in Guernsey.
Deputy Ferbrache said that was ‘absolute rubbish’ and argued the island’s benefits system was better than the UK’s.
‘We pay what we can afford.’
Fellow panellist, Guardian writer Polly Toynbee said the island, having made the choice to be a low tax jurisdiction, maybe then did not tax its citizens enough.
‘You can have fewer poor people if you decide to tax more,’ she said.
