One man's wish list for our next batch of election candidates

Acknowledge that island-wide voting is a total failure and return to something resembling the previous system, returning to more day-to-day issues to be dealt with at parish level, resulting in a much closer relationship with elected representatives.

Reduce the number of deputies and make it less of a full-time career option and alter the committee structure so that there is much less opportunity to pursue their own, often almost private, policies and producing the ‘bunker mentality’.

Education has completely lost its way and may not even survive until the next election, it would have done better to pursue a policy of ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’, concentrating on providing opportunities for the academic, IT and the increasingly important and rewarding trades, encouraging and rewarding companies who provide apprenticeships with formal courses to back them up.

Schools should be the responsibility of the head teacher and board of governors with less direct management by the committee. Teachers should be able to teach mainstream subjects in a disciplined environment and not be required to act as social workers, giving them proper job satisfaction. A more positive and constructive relationship with the private schools would be to the advantage of both sectors.

In the main policy areas GST should be buried instead of endlessly hanging as a policy in spite of its universal resistance, for a tiny population of 60-odd thousand the logistics just do not work, unless it were to be set at a very high level. A much more positive approach to encouraging businesses within the island to improve economic activity is needed, and working from home should cease forthwith.

It is very difficult to see any merit in large and expensive extensions to the Guernsey and Alderney runways on the off chance that it would attract larger, and therefore particularly in Alderney’s case, less-frequent flights. The harbours do need investment but should this be a multi-committee approach, including provision of energy and some reclamation possibly with public private investment? Certainly all avenues that would result in mitigating travel costs have to be explored.

I have been privileged to work and live here for over 50 years and even then derelict glasshouses were starting to be an issue, now it is beyond ridiculous. The reality is that they will never be returned to agriculture and it is doubtful if the demand exists anyway. The current, totally restrictive legislation needs to be changed to a more realistic approach so that these eyesores and health risks can gradually be removed.

We should exercise care in tying ourselves in to reliance on electric vehicles as more and more problems with their long-term use become evident but we certainly need to introduce some form of road tax again, possibly including a requirement for the insurance of electric bicycles.

It was my intention to take this all a little further but now, having seen the three sad contributions in the Press from our chief minister, further comment seems rather pointless. His self-pitying outpouring explains a lot.

TONY WEAVER

Southerndown

Le Rocher Road

St Martin’s