Digging more political trenches with Alderney is not the way forward

Much significant progress was made by the last P&R in the period following Covid to foster a relationship of mutual trust and support in which we could debate the serious issue of the 1948 Agreement and our future.

Many meetings were held with Alderney and Sark to examine how we could forge a new, mutually supportive and beneficial constitutional relationship, while maintaining independence and the crucial parts of each island which make them unique and special communities.

Much progress was made, but that work and much else was terminated and washed down the plug hole following the decapitation of the last P&R.

If we want to change our relationships for the better we must take the people and politicians of Alderney with us – we should be fostering a mutually-supportive team approach to Bailiwick relationships, not a Punch and Judy show.

Castigating Alderney’s population and politicians for high costs, when they have no control over the cheques written in Guernsey, by Guernsey, on Alderney’s behalf, is simply unjust. It fosters political mistrust and rightful indignation.

Alderney and its people are not responsible for Guernsey’s bloated cost base, or its health and other government costs spiralling out of control.

When things go wrong, it will be Guernsey picking up the pieces. There is no white charger coming over the hill, and failure to take responsibility for ourselves will undermine the independence of the Channel Islands as a whole.

In order to bring about change, Alderney and its population has to agree with any proposals, they cannot simply be forced into submission. Digging more political trenches will only guarantee another decade of economic stagnation and wasted opportunities for our Bailiwick, entailing even higher costs and increasing almost inevitable risk of failure of key infrastructure and lifeline services.

These problems require vision and thoughtful and respectful leadership from our senior committee to bring about change, and sooner rather than later.

Deputy Mark Helyar