Pictured: How the seats changed between the north (Vale and St Sampsons), central (St Peter Port and Castel)  and southern parts of Guernsey. 

That has been allied with a general breakdown of links with the parishes and leaves the 18,500 residents in Vale and St Sampsons with less of a voice.

These trends were outlined in the Scrutiny Management Committee’s recently released review of island-wide voting.

“Many respondents complained of a loss of accountability, connection and engagement brought about by island-wide voting due the loss of the parish-based districts,” the review says.

“Despite it being the case that any resident is at liberty to contact any deputy about a matter of concern (and indeed this was the case before island-wide voting was implemented), nevertheless, there is clear evidence that for some people, the direct parish connection to their deputy remains of significant importance.”

If that is the case, then those living in the north got a raw deal in the last election.

Representation across Vale and St Sampsons fell by half when compared with the 2016 district based vote, from 12 seats to six.

While it was a boon for the south of the island, with the South-East and West districts gaining seven seats, a 70% increase.

“Putting it another way, the two southern districts now have nearly three times as many deputies resident in them compared with the two northern districts, despite the population of both areas being similar.”

The issue of representation matters even in a small island when some decisions still have geographical implications.

The most obvious is planning policies, which have directed house building, and with it traffic, to the north and urban areas.

As the report says: “If there is a reduced number of deputies residing in an area, residents may feel they have no one to champion their local concerns.”

SMC has suggested that there is a need to restore some form of parish link between deputies, the douzaines and residents for the 2025 election.

“Informal ways of making up for the loss of direct local representatives do not appear to have materialised to any significant degree during this political term. The implication, therefore, is that a more formal approach is needed if this is to be addressed.”

What can be done?

At the public hearings held during Scrutiny’s investigation a few ideas were floated to address the representation issue, although none are clear cut.

Could deputies be given a specific responsibility to a certain parish, for instance? 

Another suggestion was parishes or districts hosting hustings only for candidates that live in them.

The broken links with the douzaines is another focus. 

In previous administrations, some douzaines invited their district deputies to attend their meetings, although whether they attended was another issue entirely.

It may also correct itself if there is a kickback to this election and more candidates stand from the northern districts to champion their causes.