2019 a year to demonstrate community's strength

Tuesday 01 January 2019

Going into a new year which will hopefully bring answers to a great deal of uncertainty, the Bailiwick of Guernsey needs to hold its sense of community spirit close, according to the island's Lieutenant Governor.

In 2018, that was one of Sir Ian Corder's highlights, and he said it was important to keep it at the forefront of our minds.

"Broadly, there remains the open-ended Brexit question, and I ask that we continue to do as we have. I think that will serve us well," he said.

"My overarching lesson is that whenever a community starts to pull together, they can start to go forward - in the right direction. If people in a community work against others, or press forward with something while ignoring other points of view, it doesn't work. If we as an island work together, we can really continue to succeed." 

Talking about the Bailiwick as a whole, Sir Ian addressed the recent electricity crisis in Sark. He said it was good the island had managed to resolve the issue internally, and now, going forward, he hoped it would continue to resolve any more problems it faced.

"Working as a community and is very important for me. Both Sark and Alderney have just had their elections, so I would very much like to wish all the new politicians good luck and thank them for taking on that role, but what they can offer is key. The two islands have handled themselves well I the elections and they have done good work, now they need to work well with each other to find solutions to any problems they are facing." 

The Governor said 2018 had been an excellent year of Guernsey demonstrating its commitment to community. Particularly in the run up to Christmas, he and Lady Corder made visits to local institutions which were supporting vulnerable people over the holiday period. He said that was a perfect demonstration of the stoicism and resilience of islanders. 

Then for him personally, 2019 will also be an important year. 

"The big personal event that will happen for us this year is that we will become grandparents. Becci and Andrew, our son, are expecting their first child, so that will be an important thing for us." 

To read about what Sir Ian thought of 2018 as a whole, click here.