Liberation Day 2025 was special. The weather, the turnout, the atmosphere. Everything came together, and for once, it felt like Guernsey was united not by worry or weariness, but by joy. Eighty years on, the memory of those who suffered and resisted still burns bright, but the day felt different this time. It felt like we drew a line under the past. Not to forget it, but to build on it. It felt like a beginning.
And what a beginning we need. For too long, we’ve been managing decline, whispering about stagnation, quietly lowering our expectations. We’ve told ourselves that Guernsey’s best days are behind us. Well, not anymore. That mood must go. There’s a new government coming, and this is our chance. Not to shuffle the same deck but to deal a new hand.
We must approach this election with new energy, new optimism, and most of all, a new attitude. No more fatalism. No more shrugging shoulders. The Guernsey spirit, that stubborn, capable, quietly defiant spirit, is still here. It just needs to be reminded of who it is.
Yes, we face challenges. The cost of living, housing, infrastructure, healthcare. None of these are small. But we’re not small either. We’re not just some offshore outpost trying to survive. We’re Guernsey. We’ve always punched above our weight. Built industries, grown ideas, created prosperity out of sheer grit and local wisdom. That hasn’t changed. We just need to remember it.
There’s been too much division lately. We all feel it. Local versus non-local. Gay versus straight. Woke versus gammon. Men versus women. Left versus right. Government versus the people. Half of it feels imported. Dragged in from bigger countries with louder media and louder rows. But this isn’t the UK. It’s not the US. It’s Guernsey. And we don’t have the luxury of endless culture wars. We don’t need to take sides on every label thrown around the internet.
We need to stop triggering each other and start talking again. Like we used to. In the packing sheds. In the stables. At Loafers’ Corner. We didn’t agree on everything back then either. But we understood that we were neighbours first. Islanders first. A people, not just a population.
There are too many flags being waved now. Literal ones and symbolic ones. Flags that are more about virtue signalling than about unity. They’re waved in the name of causes, but they often act like red rags to others. We need to be careful. When everyone is waving their own banner, nobody sees the flag that unites us all. The Guernsey flag should be enough.
And what about all the lobbying groups. All the campaigns. All the people saying ‘What about us?’ All wanting just a little bit more for ‘their’ people. But here’s the thing. We are all our people. Most of us don’t want more than others. We just want to be equal. We want fairness, not favouritism. Let’s stop competing for victim-hood and start cooperating for progress.
It’s time to end the shouting and start the listening. No more politics of grievance. No more protest as performance. No more pretending we’re enemies when we’re really just neighbours with different views.
Let’s get our house in order properly. Let’s be realistic about what we can afford. Let’s separate needs from wants. Let’s rebuild, not just patch up. Let’s invest in people, in infrastructure, and in energy that creates real value, not just activity. Let’s reward effort and contribution, not just compliance.
And most of all, let’s decide that Guernsey is going to be a place where people want to live, and can afford to. A place where young people don’t have to leave to find opportunity. A place where older people can live with dignity. A place where families thrive. Where businesses grow. Where no one is left behind and no one is held back.
This isn’t about going back to how things were. It’s about going forward with the best of who we’ve always been. That quiet, capable, determined Guernsey spirit. The one that doesn’t shout but never backs down. The one that builds, mends, digs in and gets on.
And we start now. Because the donkey is back. Still stubborn. Still strong. But no longer plodding. This donkey is back with attitude.
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