Money turns an idea into a responsibility

The minute the first public donations arrived in its crowdfunding account the level of responsibility involved in the venture became exponentially greater.

Before that, when it was just meetings and press releases and talk, the association could be regarded as an interesting novelty, something new for Guernsey to mull over. If it failed to take off no real harm was done, if it succeeded good luck to them.

Taking money makes it a wholly different proposition.

For while the first donation of £3,000 came from Deputy Carl Meerveld, a man who has already shown his deep pockets by offering to meet the costs of his ill-fated three-school Facebook campaign, the next £30 could come from a pensioner or young family who could ill afford it.

Once their cumulative thousands are banked nobody can simply walk away and call it a failed experiment. They have a duty to make it work.

Spurred on by the passion of its three founders and inspired by the association’s central message, Good for Guernsey’s Future, the association hopes hundreds if not thousands will sign up.

Each member will want to shape the island’s future society and prosperity, as promised, and make the States more effective at making decisions and implementing them.

Those words aside, however, it is not clear what the association stands for. It is not a political party, yet it seeks to influence the political process.

It believes in a better Guernsey, but then who doesn’t? It is against the current set-up but offers no clear alternatives.

Without knowing its core values it is hard to understand why anyone would contribute to the ambitious £150,000 target.

Those beliefs and philosophies will be shaped by its members from the ground up, we are told. Which means the people who join now may not like what they get in six months’ time as new members join and push the association in a different direction.

It could morph into the next Ukip or the next Momentum. Or something inbetween...

It is governed by its members. Much like the States – except it costs nothing to vote.