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People discouraged from standing for election after learning more about the States and the ins and outs of being a politician will be a good thing for effective government, according to the deputy leading a new awareness campaign.
The dedicated website for the 2025 general election has now been launched and is currently populated by sections explaining how the States works, what’s expected of deputies, the role of civil servants, and how to stand for election.
But Deputy Carl Meerveld, President of the States Assembly & Constitution Committee which has led the project, said the aim is to educate rather than inspire.
“This is not a recruitment drive. This is to make people aware of not just the positives of the personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement deputies can get from helping to serve their community, but also the negative aspects as well and how it can have impact on personal and professional life.
“If we actually convince some people that maybe standing as a deputy is not for them, then that's a good thing because they could stand and they could be elected without having an appreciation of what the role involves and make a four year commitment to their life that they then don't want to back away from.
“But because they weren't anticipating what they needed to do, they might not be the most effective deputy and what we want to do as part of improving our government in any way we can is make sure we are the public representative with people who have an understanding of what they're expected to do and are ready to make that commitment.
“If these sessions and this information discourages some people from standing, that is a good thing as well. It's a good thing for them and it's a good thing for our government.”
Pictured: Two events will be held at Beau Sejour and St James in April for anyone interested in candidacy or the States.
Deputy Meerveld said Guernsey is unique in offering little support to candidates and politicians, mostly because of the lack of professional political parties in the system.
“We're very unusual and we don't have parties here and it's a consensus government, a very flat structure. One of the issues with not having parties is in other countries where they have parties, the party themselves help recruit and induct and train candidates that then support them.
“The fact is the role of a deputy has changed significantly over the decades with the introduction of the internet and social media, with the expectations of people and the responses and the ability to reach out to deputies and expect immediate answers.
“The demands on deputies have changed a lot. So, I think it's absolutely essential that we as an organisation help to make candidates aware of what they're getting themselves into what the commitments are.
"The public perception of some people is still that we are paid a large amount of money to turn up three days a week a month and talk. The reality is most deputies are doing 40 hours a week and on occasions like me have been doing 100-hour weeks and that's just the nature of the job.
“The fact is you cannot, I think, be an effective deputy and maintain a nine to five job. You can have other business interests, but you're going to end up putting in extra hours, a lot of extra hours, and it's that and what you're expected to do during those hours."
SACC also plans to beef-up induction training once elections have returned candidates.
“We are I think beholden to support our members both in the knowledge and skills that to make an informed decision to stand, but also to start providing them with more after they stand to help make them more effective in their roles,” Deputy Meerveld added.
“That part started this term with the induction training, which went beyond just committee-based induction because normally you join a committee and you have can be several weeks of induction training on that committee's mandate, but more generic training that was given to members in other areas as well, broader transferable skills across committees.
“We're going to expand on that after this election as well.,” he said, which he hopes will lead to a more effective government machine.
More can be learned at two drop-in sessions later in April: “This is the usual time when people start coming forward. We're starting to have people now approaching sitting deputies and asking about the role and starting to make these inquiries and that interest will grow ever more as we get closer to the election.
"Those drop ins are not just for people who are interested in being candidates, but anybody who's interested in government and understanding the role of deputies is more than welcome to come along and have a chat."
Content on the site is being written by parliamentary officers before being vetted and approved by SACC political members.
The 2020 election website containing manifestos and questions and answers with the previous cohort of candidates has been taken offline permanently.
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