Attending rallies is not enough
IN JANUARY 2008, the Guernsey Press was kind enough to print a letter I had written under the heading 'Power to the people'. In the letter I urged my fellow islanders to:
a) Take more interest in what was happening, politically, in their island home.
b) Sign up for the electoral roll to enable them to vote in that year's general election.
c) Stand as a candidate in the election.
I have written several such letters to the Press since (as has my brother, Deputy Laurie Queripel) in an attempt to encourage islanders to take more of an active interest.
Therefore, I take great comfort from the fact that more and more islanders are starting to realise they have a voice: and in order to have an influence on decisions that are made by their government, they need to use their voice.
The Enough is Enough campaign is testimony to that.
However, having said that, the irony is that it isn't enough just to attend rallies on the North Beach, or write letters to the Guernsey Press, or call the BBC Guernsey Sunday phone-in, or lobby deputies, because there is so much more that islanders can do.
Please see the list below:
1. Submit their views to public consultations.
2. Attend presentations staged by the States.
3. Collect signatures on petitions and send them into the States.
4. Sit in the public gallery during a States debate.
5. Listen to States debates on the radio.
6. Stand as a candidate in an election to become a douzenier.
7. Stand as a candidate in the general election next April.
8. Attend parishioners' drop-ins on the Saturday morning prior to a States debate.
(On that last point, I would just like to inform my fellow St Peter Port residents that we will be resuming our drop-ins on the Saturday morning prior to the September States debate.)
Also, I would advise any islander considering standing as a candidate in the general election next year to spend the remaining months up until the election empowering themselves with as much knowledge as they possibly can, to ensure that they are 'fully informed' on all of the issues. (We always have to bear in mind, of course, that there are at least two sides to an issue.)
There are several ways in which islanders can actually empower themselves with knowledge, some of which I have already listed above, but to add to that I would suggest attending evening classes, such as one of the numerous economic classes on offer in the island, and also the WEA course that will run for six weeks during October and November of this year, entitled 'How to become a deputy'.
In closing, to repeat my plea to my fellow islanders ... it's wonderful to see so many people using their voice and I ask that you please take even more of an interest in the future of what is, after all, your home.
LESTER QUERIPEL (Deputy),
Lester.Queripel@deputies.gov.gg
