Big spenders look to buy their profile

Granted, only a political party of at least 10 candidates could spend that much but, once that’s been achieved, the economies of scale would kick in.

Any party controlling such a huge pot of cash would be expected to dominate the election. Street posters, adverts, glossy manifestos and a whizzy website would give them a political profile unseen before in our islands.

In the face of such firepower a solo candidate, especially a new one without a loyal following of voters, would struggle to be noticed regardless of the strength, conviction and eloquence behind their views.

Like the whole concept of island-wide voting, a big spending party may change politics in ways that are yet to be appreciated.

The sponsors of the amendment seeking to supercharge party spending quote the Venice Commission. ‘Political parties are central to the functioning of democracy. They are essential to a pluralist political society, and their role in the formation of the will of the people is fundamental.’

It is a vision of politics not everyone in Guernsey will embrace. The successful drive towards island-wide voting in the referendum a year ago was based at least in part on the desire to have some sort of say in the election of every one of the 38 deputies. It was not explicit that it meant the certain development of political parties.

Indeed, it could be argued that party politics weakens the link between voter and individual deputies.

This week’s debate is an important junction in the path to the island’s changing democratic future. There are those who cannot wait to cast aside the consensus model of standalone deputies and replace it with all the party apparatus and expense familiar to the UK and US.

Once big budgets, donations, memberships and a political infrastructure are entrenched it will be hard to turn back. The notion of a strong independent candidate being elected will be left to romantics stuck in the past.