Father of the House Gollop elected to senior committee
Deputy John Gollop was elected to the senior committee of the States yesterday, after what he described as ‘one of the longest apprenticeships ever’.
The Father of the House – so named because he is the States member with the longest unbroken tenure, having first been elected in 1997 – placed third out of eight nominees for the four vacant seats on Policy & Resources.
New president Deputy Lyndon Trott nominated three deputies with P&R experience.
Of these, Jonathan Le Tocq and Bob Murray had been removed from their positions only the day before as a result of the motion of no confidence.
Both were elected back onto the committee, along with Deputy Heidi Soulsby, who served on P&R for the first two years of this term.
Hear reaction from Deputies Gollop and Trott as Simon De La Rue and Matt Fallaize round up the day on our Shorthand States podcast
The only member nominated by Deputy Trott who was unsuccessful was Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller.
Deputy Gollop had been proposed by the recently-ousted P&R president Deputy Peter Ferbrache and was seconded by the man who came close to taking the top job in Wednesday’s 21-19 presidential vote – Deputy Rob Prow.
Deputy Ferbrache described Deputy Gollop as ‘a deep thinker’ who was ‘not afraid to take hard decisions’, while Deputy Gollop himself put forward his parish experience, previous membership of multiple committees, and electoral results as reasons for supporting his candidature.
He also said he would be able to bring an element of diversity to the senior committee.
‘Diversity is not just about age or gender,’ he said. ‘I also bring a different perspective as someone who’s been diagnosed with autism.’
Deputy Le Tocq had emphasised his work on external affairs and topped the poll, while Deputy Murray, who placed second, said he wanted to see his work on the Government Work Plan and MyGov through to completion.
Deputy Soulsby came fourth – just one vote ahead of former P&R president Deputy Gavin St Pier – having promised she could ‘hit the ground running’ and was someone who could work collegiately with all committees.
Former Treasury minister Deputy Charles Parkinson and Deputy Simon Vermeulen were unsuccessful, finishing just ahead of Deputy Kazantseva-Miller.
