Elected speaker role would be only reason I might stand – Trott

A requete will be submitted soon proposing the replacement of the Bailiff as presiding officer with a speaker independent of the judiciary in time for the start of the new States term in July 2025.

One option would be for the States to choose a speaker from among candidates elected at next year’s general election. Another option would be to elect a speaker from outside the States.

‘If the requete was successful and there was a vacancy, it is the only thing that would see me on the ballot paper in 2025,’ said Deputy Trott.

• Hear the full interview with P&R president Lyndon Trott on the Guernsey Press Politics Podcast

‘It would be for a very specific thing. I would be prepared to stand to put my name forward for that role... but we are a long way off.

‘Is it a job that I covet? No. Is it a job I would do? Yes, if circumstances drove us in that direction.’

The move for an elected speaker is being led by two former P&R presidents, Peter Ferbrache and Gavin St Pier.

They claim to have the support of several deputies, although some of their colleagues have dismissed the idea as a waste of time which could derail more important work.

In a wide-ranging interview looking back on his first 100 days as P&R president, Deputy Trott told the Guernsey Press Politics Podcast that there were several reasons to support his predecessors’ reform proposal and a higher chance than ever of removing the Bailiff from the Assembly.

‘Do I fundamentally believe that the head of the Royal Court should preside over an elected assembly? No, I don’t, despite the fact that I hold the Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff in the highest regard,’ he said.

‘There is also the cost issue. The Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff are very capable lawyers and they are well paid for their roles, primarily because of their skills as judges. It is much better that they spend their time trying court cases.

‘[The requete] has got a reasonable chance of getting through the States. As a general rule, the more senior the offices that you have held within the States, the more likely you are to believe that now is the right time for change.’

Deputy Trott is one of three acting presiding officers who are required to chair States meetings when both the Bailiff, Sir Richard McMahon, and Deputy Bailiff, Jessica Roland, are unavailable.

That has happened infrequently, although at one meeting earlier this term each presiding officer had a spell chairing proceedings. Deputy Trott did it for several hours.

‘I have to tell you it was absolutely exhausting. I found it extremely challenging and my respect for the presiding officers grew immeasurably,’ he said.

‘The levels of concentration needed are absolutely extraordinary.

'You can’t let your mind wander for a moment because you never know when you are going to be challenged.’

Since being elected P&R president in December, Deputy Trott has said several times that he would not seek re-election to the States next year.

He said that the role of speaker was ‘the only way’ he could persuade his wife to allow him to stand again ‘because that would be a one-week-a-month commitment, which would allow time for other things’.

Deputies Ferbrache and St Pier hope to submit their requete in the next couple of months.