Political divisions do not make for good governance

The quick answer is that it is the only post in which role and responsibilities remained unchanged as a result of the change of government structure, yet the salary was increased from £40,137 to £50,185, a whopping 25% rise.

No change in the job, but a 25% pay increase. Nice.

Turning to the unique development in Guernsey politics – the creation of Charter 2018 by 11 deputies.

This is the first time a group of deputies have produced such a document and it is a little bit ‘motherhood and apple pie’. I doubt if many of the public, let alone deputies, could disagree with its principles.

It is fair to criticise it for being very aspirational, being a bit general, detailing the ‘what’ rather than the ‘how’, but aspirational is not new – we all remember Deputy St Pier’s let-Guernsey-be-a-happy-place manifesto.

Even with its weaknesses and lack of ‘how’, it was not deserving of the hatchet job that was Nick Mann’s recent column.

In one way they are being brave in producing such a document. Their detractors have already started taking pot shots at them and no doubt the first time one of them votes in a different way will be cited as the group falling apart, whereas if they vote the same way it will be cited as evidence of a block vote.

The aspect of this which I find most interesting and a little worrying is the ‘why?’. Why have 11 deputies felt the need to produce this charter and why now?

I’m going to avoid saying this is the worst States ever, but it is definitely one of the most divided States ever. Is the production of Charter 2018 an indication of that division?

One of the 11, Deputy Meerveld I think, made a passing reference that the Charter was in part a response to ‘the Left’, so just how ‘left wing’ is our government?

Looking at the three biggest spending committees: Employment & Social Security consists of deputies Michelle Le Clerc, Shane Langlois, John Gollop, Matt Fallaize and Emilie Yerby. The latter four makes it, in my opinion, the most left-wing social security committee for a long time.

Turning to the newly-elected Education committee; a membership of deputies Matt Fallaize, Richard Graham, Rhian Tooley, Peter Roffey and Mark Dorey, another 4:1 left-leaning committee.

The biggest-spending committee, Health, is similar. Its membership of deputies Soulsby, Tooley, Prow, Yerby and Tindall has a similar lean to the left.

Interestingly, Deputy Fallaize was quoted in the Press along the lines that the Charter 2018 deputies had already been voting along similar lines. A quick scan of the records shows a similarity of voting by many of the deputies on the above committees.

This is borne out by a comment one of those deputies made to me, that the difference between this and previous governments is that the ‘Left’ is more co-ordinated than ever before.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with deputies having left-wing, or left-of-centre, views – actually, in a consensus system it is essential that all shades of politics are represented. There is also nothing wrong with deputies working together – they need to. However if, as was suggested to me, the Left has ‘got its act together’ and formed a loose arrangement or group or whatever is the appropriate term, then that could change the dynamics of the States.

It could account for why we have what is probably the most divided government in a long time.

If there is any truth in this, then unlike Charter 2018 it has all happened below the radar and in a less than transparent way. Indeed a senior deputy did suggest to me that the former Education committee were not facing a ‘Gang of Four’ but a gang of six, there being two experienced politicians also involved in the background.

If this has happened, it does not bode well for our government. Consensus government works when there is a free flow of deputies joining together for particular subjects, not partisan groupings.

We cannot explore this subject without considering the role of the chief minister. If the key to a consensus form of government is an Assembly where deputies work together and compromise on issues, then surely the role of the chief minister should be leading the Assembly by encouraging deputies to work together, to form a consensus. But is he? Was he involved in the demise of the previous Education committee?

He is now forming a political grouping of some type. If his new type of politics is anything akin to a party then it may also be divisive.

Leading division does not seem to be a good form of leadership in a consensus system of government.

The island is facing major issues, yet we have many deputies, from the top down, focusing on political matters, the structure of politics rather than the governmental matters of finding solutions to the issues we face.

I find it all very depressing.

Would I have signed the Charter? Probably not. Not because I disagree with the principles, but because I still believe a consensus form of government can work – if key deputies accept the structure and want it to work.