‘We’re all in this together

I’M wrangling with an insurance company at the moment and it certainly believes in the Three Ds the insurance industry is built upon, namely Dispute, Delay and Don’t Pay. The sheer elegance of the Three Ds capturing the ethos of insurance made we wonder if something similar would work for the States of Guernsey.

I therefore took advantage of a sunny day and sat myself in a shady part of Old Farm where I could admire the wonders of nature and be stimulated by birdsong. After many false starts I came up with the Three Cs. Consensus, Cooperation and Chaos.

Not as elegant as the Ds, nor as obviously pertinent. In my mind the States works best where there is consensus. Consensus leads to cooperation where all deputies, no matter what their stance, get behind something to make it work. And chaos describes what happens when there is no consensus and/or no cooperation.

How is consensus achieved? A tough one, but I believe it’s all about reasoned debate. Probably in the past, when consensus was more likely, the debate gave deputies a reasonable idea of which way the proposition would go. Possibly fewer deputies would vote as their conscience dictated but shout ‘pour’ or ‘contre’ to support the majority view.

Recorded votes are frequently called for but all they create is division.

In the current Assembly the vote is generally split right down the middle with just one or two votes deciding. Because of the history of recorded votes we can pretty well guess which way most deputies will vote on most topics.

Then we expect these people to work together in a consensus government to make things happen that half of them are vehemently opposed to. It doesn’t sound like consensus to me.

Then what about cooperation? Anyone sad enough, like me, to listen to the States debates will know that this one is getting very political. There were times when the last sitting was beginning to sound like Prime Minister’s Questions, and I was expecting the Bailiff to shout ‘order, order’ at any minute.

I was once of the opinion that consensus was no longer fit for purpose and that island-wide voting with political parties was the way forward. This would give us a chance of real executive government able to make decisions and then implement them in a quick and efficient manner.

I no longer hold that view.

Comparing this 2016 Assembly to the 2012 Assembly is like comparing chalk with cheese. I know they had the benefit of the Sarnian Spring boost of confidence, but despite its failures it never had the same toxicity as we have now.

The previous States did have its moments when it challenged consensus and it may have been those challenges that have led us to where we are now, which is hoping for something better in 2020. The transport strategy and the education debate caused, in my opinion, the death of consensus and the source of the politicisation of the current Assembly.

We are stuck with a divided House and too many alpha males and females until the next general election. But we must do all we can to get back to a more Guernsey-centric system of government. That system of government doesn’t have parties. Island-wide voting will lead to a party political system in Guernsey. Party politics will not give us consensus and cooperation, it will give us the chaos we are already experiencing.

We want 38 people like us all working together for our benefit, not a ruling party and an official opposition. Say no to parties and say, No to IWV.

I was inspired to write this about reactions to Deputy Kuttelwascher suggesting there was a relatively low-cost and quick-to-implement interim solution to increasing the length of our runway. Not as long as we would like it, but long enough to get some bigger planes in which would interest other carriers. It seemed to me that if this was really viable, and combined with Economic Development’s ‘quasi-open skies’ policy, it would send a message to the world that we are open for business.

It also occurred to me that Deputy K, despite his considerable relevant experience, could be selling us a pup. However, it surely has to be worth investigating if 100-plus metres of runway not currently being used for safety reasons could in fact be useable. I couldn’t imagine anyone being against giving it a look and see if he is right or not. The potential reward of an instantly longer runway must be worth the risk of investigating it?

Imagine then my disappointment when certain deputies, not in Deputy K’s party, immediately dismissed the idea as unworkable. Why would they do that? Similar remarks were made against Deputy Paint when, given his considerable relevant experience, he made pragmatic suggestions about importing fuel.

Dear deputies, we are all in this together. Even if someone you don’t like comes up with an idea don’t just dismiss it out of hand. And don’t dismiss it because it doesn’t fit into your group’s thinking. Consensus government means you must have an open mind. Cooperation in government means you mustn’t reinforce the divide between members. Perhaps every controversial vote doesn’t need to be recorded?

From a Sarnian’s perspective I’m looking everywhere for positivity and it’s very hard to find at the moment. It’s not hard to make people positive about Guernsey because it’s a wonderful place and it’s like a magnet to its people holding us here and forever pulling on expats to come home. But the one place where positivity is hard to find is in the Assembly of the States of Guernsey.

We are forced to put up with you until 2020. Is it too much to ask for the 38 of you to settle your petty differences and start working together for all of us before then?

Perhaps my three Cs could then stand for Consensus, Cooperation and Caring. Isn’t that what the States of Guernsey should be all about?