The deputy, first elected last June, said she had been wrestling with the decision for many months in the hope that things would improve, but they had not.
‘The difficulty has been an environment in which acquiescence appears to be valued more highly than challenge, where independent thought is too often treated as an inconvenience rather than an asset, and where leadership has remained, in my view, autocratic rather than collaborative,’ she said.
‘I was not elected to blindly follow a president’s agenda. I was elected to bring my own judgement, my professional experience and my independence to the table. I believe committee members exist to test ideas, challenge assumptions and improve decisions – not simply to endorse conclusions that have already been reached.’
After questioning decisions, she said she had been left with work that no one else was interested in pursuing, and received little officer support.
‘Whether intentional or otherwise, the effect was the same. I have become progressively less able to make the contribution the electorate expects me to make.’
Deputy Camp, who had outlined her frustrations on Economic Development fairly soon after taking office, and had opposed the subsidy to British Airways for a Heathrow service and the use of consultants Oliver Wyman to work on a new finance sector strategy, said her experience elsewhere in the States, on Scrutiny and the Education Devolution & Delegation Investigation & Advisory Committee, had been very different, with robust debate welcomed and differing views respected.
At Economic Development, however, the focus had too often been on ‘announcements, launches and carefully choreographed photo opportunities’.
‘I did not join Economic Development to curate headlines. I joined to help build a stronger economy,’ she said.
‘Economic growth demands difficult decisions. It requires challenging assumptions, confronting uncomfortable truths, measuring outcomes honestly and being prepared to change course when the evidence demands it. It cannot be delivered by presentation alone.’
In response, Economic Development president Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller said she respected Deputy Camp’s decision to step down.
‘Committee discussions are necessarily robust and members do not always share the same view of how the committee’s work is best progressed. That is a normal feature of consensus government and I do not intend to engage in a public debate about personalities or respond to individual assertions,’ she said.
‘I believe the public rightly expects us to focus our time and energy on serving the island and delivering results, rather than on personality politics.’
She said the committee had a clear programme of work to strengthen Guernsey’s economy, agreed and supported unanimously by its members, and welcomed scrutiny.
‘Economic development is about delivering tangible outcomes for the community. It requires constructive partnership with industry, collaboration across government and a clear focus on the island’s short, medium and long-term success. That is where I will continue to devote my energy,’ she said.
Fellow committee member Deputy Rhona Humphreys said she was sorry that Deputy Camp felt she had been marginalised.
‘I do not think that is the case whatsoever, and am genuinely sad to see her go,’ she said.
‘If I am to be 100% honest there have been occasions where I have felt conflict and struggled with it, but genuinely believed that this had settled down and we were working together as a committee for the benefit of the Guernsey economy.’
She defended the committee president, saying she was ‘hardworking and fair with her time and energy’.
Deputy Camp confirmed that she would seek appointment to an alternative principal committee should a vacancy arise and would continue scrutinising Economic Development from outside the committee.
‘However, this resignation is about something much larger than one committee,’ she said.
‘Every deputy should now pause to reflect on the fact that two elected members have resigned from committees after concluding that minority challenge had become increasingly marginalised. Regardless of personalities, that should concern us all.’
Economic Development has now lost two of its original five deputy members since they were elected 12 months ago. Deputy Andy Niles had to resign his seat when he joined Policy & Resources in May.
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