Buying local to get economy back on track

Given the tight border restrictions, the internal economy has never been more important.

Life on Guernsey has returned to something like normal, but for many businesses this will be a period of make or break as the States financial support packages ebb away.

We have already lost some operations, each closure leaving a wound that can cut deeper than is initially apparent.

The next few weeks and months will no doubt add more names to that list.

On a human level it will mean more people out of work. There are then knock on impacts on suppliers, deliveries, all the elements in a chain.

On a community level another service will have gone and perhaps another reason to go into town is lost, further impacting on other businesses that rely on passing footfall.

Tax receipts are lost, perhaps benefit payments are needed instead, so the public purse is strained.

We all have a part to play in supporting the local economy and a new campaign by the States is putting the plight of Guernsey business front and centre.

The message is simple: our local retailers need us.

Shoe shops, butchers, fishermen, bike shops, department stores, garden centres – we cannot revive and thrive if we do not support them.

The States too should be using its vast spending power to back local suppliers and traders to a greater degree than it already does. Done right the island can come out of a crisis even more independent and more resilient than when it entered.

This is a window of opportunity that other economies do not have – and one that can also provide business with a buffer should the worst-case scenario happen and a second wave hits as it is feared might be happening in some areas of Europe and America.

Guernsey has already shown how well the community can pull together and work for one another. That spirit needs to continue.