Will Walter launched the Guernsey Deputy Scorecard during the summer. He said that he had since interacted with more than half of States members and, although he had experienced some pushback, some were engaging positively with the platform too.
‘I expected pushback and I have had it,’ he said.
‘A small group is hostile, and one deputy described the Scorecard as manipulative. When the Guernsey edition launched, a member of P&R told me it would put people off standing for election. Utter nonsense.
‘What will put off the next generation is joining an Assembly that is perceived to say one thing and do another, that doesn’t turn up and that achieves little of what it says it will.’
Mr Walter said that he contacted all deputies around the launch of the Scorecard. Twenty had since contacted him and some continued to do so regularly. He has also met or spoken to several.
‘Most of what comes in is about a deputy’s own record, GST verdicts above all,’ he said.
‘About half a dozen are now actively helping me build an accurate picture of attendance and pledges, sending spreadsheets and corrections regularly. A few others have written unprompted with a complaint or a formal correction.’
He said that most complaints he was now receiving were very specific – about interpretations of their manifesto pledges, particularly in relation to GST, or complaints about attendance records.
‘Both are fair things to raise,’ he said. ‘I have changed several verdicts after deputies sent evidence, and I will keep doing that. I reply promptly, and every deputy sees their record before it goes up.’
He said a quarter of the deputies had given good feedback.
‘They called it a good, useful tool, said it paints a fuller picture of a deputy’s performance, and said it is being talked about among colleagues.
‘One said it could help set the right incentives when people draft their manifestos next time and another was glad it tracks their own efforts.’
Recently the Scorecard has tracked negativity relating to the States on Facebook, noting that three-quarters of more than 12,000 comments made on Facebook over the past four years have been negative. There was an uplift in positivity around the general election in June 2025, with the goodwill lasting about three months.
But in the first half of October a record high of 22.5% of reactions to political posts were classified as ‘angry’ – the most negative month on record, according to Mr Walter.
He said that the sharpest comments were about delivery failures, spending and broken promises, more than the GST rate itself.
The Scorecard has also analysed deputies’ pledges in relation to spending and States finances in advance of next week’s budget debate.
It said that 14 had made a firm commitment to a cut, a balanced budget or a spending review. Another 14 pledged efficiency or value for money in more general terms, with no figure or mechanism attached.
And nine had made no pledge on spending and restraint at all.
The Deputies Scorecard can be found at www.bridgeheadcommunications.com/guernsey/