Guernsey Press

We need to redress the balance

WE NEED more deputies and we need to pay them less.

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A strong statement, at least half of which goes against popular opinion, so how can I justify such a radical suggestion?

‘The worst States ever’ is a much-used phrase, applied to each recent government, and, if truth be told, a little unfairly.

Prior to the introduction of zero-10 the States was awash with money. When all that changed, suddenly the States was short of money, making introducing new services more difficult.

I am not suggesting that recent governments have been perfect, far from it, but compared to the years of plenty, successive States which have to say ‘no’ are bound to be unpopular and viewed negatively.

Which brings me to the current government. I hesitate to call it the ‘worst States ever’ but, more importantly, it is a very weak States.

However you describe the States members’ attributes, be it talent, ability, capability, intellect, experience, then as a group I think this is the weakest in a generation.

In making that statement I am disregarding political ideals and viewpoints – a person’s political position is separate from their ability.

I acknowledge some of the most capable deputies have differing views to me.

Last year I was speaking to an experienced and senior deputy who suggested that there are six key deputies without whom the States would cease to function. Quite a damning statement. One which only last week another experienced deputy agreed with.

How did we get into a situation where we have such a weak government?

To answer this question, we first need to consider what skills and attributes we are looking for in our deputies. Often the first answer is a love or a passion for Guernsey. That’s nice, but not really an attribute which makes for a good decision-maker.

There are many people who are passionate about football but would never have the ability to play for Guernsey FC.

Government is about making decisions. We all make decisions in life, so it should not be a problem. Except it is.

In everyday life our decisions tend to be quite straightforward – option A or B. Imagine a see-saw, with the pros on one side, the cons on another. How they balance against each other will determine the decision we make.

Government is more complex, not about making individual decisions but keeping a balance between a number of pressures, be they social, fiscal, financial, environmental, economic etc., which are all interlinked.

Imagine the see-saw, but on each end is another see-saw of alternatives and on each end of those yet more see-saws of options.

A decision made in one place will impact on a number of areas.

Members of government need to have the ability to consider issues in a timely manner, on a multiple basis, often without all the information and not just one at a time. These are skills normally found at senior management or director level in the ‘real’ world.

Remember, unlike the UK, where only a minority of MPs become ministers and form the actual government, here every deputy becomes a member of our government.

As a society we have a very high proportion of exceptionally talented and experienced people of all political viewpoints, so why are so few standing in elections?

There are three key factors:

1. Time commitment – I still believe that for the majority of deputies it is not, or should not need to be, a full-time job, but having fewer deputies means the total workload is spread over fewer people, and therefore the time commitment has increased compared with 15 years ago.

People in their 40s or 50s who have the skills and experience we need to adequately evaluate and make consistent decisions have careers. It may be possible to balance two days a week as a deputy with a career, while three or four days becomes more difficult. The structure of government effectively excludes them from being deputies.

2. The second factor is the high pay. The role is increasingly attractive as a full-time job. I would go as far as to suggest that there are currently some deputies who have not earned so much working in the ‘real world’ and would certainly not be recruited into such high-level jobs in the ‘real world’.

3. As a result of the first two points, the States is seen as being dysfunctional, which is off-putting for many capable people. I lose count of the times I hear it said that somebody would like to be involved but just cannot envisage dealing with the infighting and ‘petty-politicking’.

Our government structure has created an exceptionally democratic environment where it is possible for anybody, of any ability, to be elected directly into the government. But in doing so it actually makes it more difficult for talented, capable people to enter, while the high pay makes it very attractive for the less capable.

I am not suggesting a government made totally of business people – that would be wrong. There have been some very capable ‘non-business’ deputies and we need a mixture of people, but now the balance is the wrong way around.

If nothing changes, I fear that in an era of increasing complexity, when we need a government team of first division players, we will end up with governments of mostly second and third division players – which does not bode well for the future of the average Guernseyman.