P&R calls for early election after GST is rejected again
Guernsey could be electing a new government within the next few months after members of the Policy & Resources Committee gave a shock response to their proposals for a goods and services tax being shot down again by fellow politicians.
They called for an early general election after GST was rejected by 15 votes to 24. Two major packages of borrowing were also rejected, though the States has agreed that it does intend to borrow more to help pay for a hospital extension and more social housing.
‘This States is at a complete impasse,’ said Policy & Resources president Peter Ferbrache.
‘And I cannot see that changing. If we resign and someone else comes in, all you’re doing is swapping people into the seats.’
He believed that more people now understood the funding crisis facing the States, but clearly not enough to sway the key vote, which essentially did not change from that of February.
His vice-president Mark Helyar said the result was not unexpected. ‘It’s quite clear that this group of States members won’t vote for any kind of progressive package in relation to tax.’
Listen to our 'Shorthand States' round-up as Simon De La Rue and Matt Fallaize unpack a day of big decisions
The committee will be writing to the States Assembly & Constitution Committee to see if it can bring forward a proposal for an early election, which could be in July or September next year, it is being speculated. The next general election is scheduled for June 2025.
After the votes at about 6pm, Deputy Charles Parkinson immediately invited the senior committee to consider their positions. He said the States was now a ‘zombie government’ and that P&R’s credibility was ‘shot’.
Deputy Lyndon Trott said he would resign were he in a senior committee seat and he believed that members would be considering their next move.
‘They are a caretaker five, or we have another caretaker five. Nothing meaningful is going to happen now.’
The big winner of the day was Health & Social Care and the hospital, where phase two of its modernisation programme was backed by deputies.
They also rejected a proposal to give up on a sixth form centre at Les Ozouets and stay at Les Varendes, but refused to fund it, plunging that project into doubt and the Education Committee into a crisis.
‘It’s extremely disappointing that members were not able to get behind the packages to enable us to invest in education and our kids. It’s very difficult now to understand a way forward,' said ESC president Andrea Dudley-Owen.
The States has agreed on a ‘core proposal’, which will seek to raise an additional £35m. a year from motoring taxes, corporate taxes and savings, and still has the 2024 Budget to approve next month.
On capital spending it intends to spend on the hospital, secure more funding for social housing, and look to invest £35m. into the regeneration of the Bridge, though P&R will need to give the Assembly more detail on its proposals.
