It was announced that it would be wound up before the general election and that its two remaining deputies, John Dyke and Simon Vermeulen, would stand in June as independent candidates.
Despite the emergence of various political groups, charters and movements, the Guernsey Party was the only remaining ‘official’ party registered at the Greffe for the purpose of supporting or endorsing election candidates.
‘To my mind, it’s a real shame that it proved impossible for the entire group to stick together with our manifesto,’ said Deputy Dyke.
‘Simon and I did, and we saw it through this term working together on the basis of our 2020 election platform.
‘We will both be standing again as independents with an emphasis on growing the economy and actually getting housing built.’
The Guernsey Party fielded eight candidates at the 2020 general election. Six were elected as deputies – Mark Helyar, Nick Moakes, Bob Murray and Christopher Le Tissier were the others. A seventh deputy, Liam McKenna, joined weeks later.
Some of its policy objectives were backed by the current States and have been introduced or are on the way, including three 11-16 schools and a sixth form college on one site, high-speed broadband across the island, a new reciprocal health agreement with the UK, and the creation of the Guernsey Development Agency.
But the party was torn apart when some of its members backed the introduction of a goods and services tax having opposed tax rises, particularly GST, at the election.
It did, however, outlive the other two parties who put up candidates in 2020, Gavin St Pier’s Partnership of Independents, which folded despite winning 10 seats in the States, and Barry Weir’s Alliance Party, which failed to win any seats.
‘It would seem that the time is not yet appropriate for party politics in Guernsey,’ said Deputy Dyke.
‘There are good arguments both for and against. The prevailing view on the island is clearly against.’
It is unclear whether any new political groups will register as parties ahead of the second island-wide general election, for which candidates must be nominated between 12 and 14 May.
Future Guernsey, which has called itself a political movement since launching in November, recently published a 47-page manifesto, but has said it will not become a party or field candidates at the general election.
Deputy Murray recently launched an initiative called Vote4Guernsey. He has worked on it with several other States members, but he has said it will not become a party, describing it as a ‘sort of charter’ to inform candidates and voters about the most important issues facing the next States Assembly.
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