Island Wide Voting has been "something of a disaster"

Monday 02 October 2023

The decision to opt for island wide voting has been described as a mistake with "only downsides" that no one supports three years on.

A Scrutiny hearing this morning heard from a number of witnesses including current and former deputies and douzeniers.

Deputy Sue Aldwell; who has also been a Constable for Torteval, answered questions alongside former Deputy and Conseiller Mary Lowe, and Vale Douzenier and former Press editor Richard Digard.

Each of them gave examples of where they think island wide voting has failed, with a "disconnect" caused between the parishes and the States.

Deputy Aldwell, Mrs Lowe and Mr Digard spoke during the first half of today's hearing, with questions posed by Deputies Yvonne Burford, Simon Fairclough and Carl Meerveld, and former Deputy Michelle Le Clerc and civil servant Mark Huntingdon.

Pictured (l-r): Deputy Carl Meerveld, Michelle Le Clerc, Mark Huntingdon, Deputy Yvonne Burford and Deputy Simon Fairclough.

Asked specifically what they thought the impact of island wide voting had been on the parishes - which used to be have direct representation in the States, before some of the less populous parishes were merged into districts for voting purposes - Mr Digard was first to answer and he delivered a straightforward reply.

"From a parish perspective, it's been something of a disaster," said Mr Digard.

While he couldn't speak on behalf of the parish, he said in his personal opinion "it hasn't worked at all".

"There's a complete disconnect between the current assembly and our parish," he said, which was met with an immediate response of "I agree with that" from Mrs Lowe.

She explained that in previous years "you had that possibility of (the parish) feeding stuff into the States and equally feeding it back into the douzaine as well" with a strong relationship between the douzaines and their parish deputies. 

Mrs Lowe's near 30 years experience in the States included time served as a Conseiller - elected island wide - as well as a Deputy for the Vale. 

"During my first term from 1994 I received huge criticism because I was covering the whole island and it was a case of 'this is our parish you shouldn't be helping them', and I used to say 'why aren't they ringing you?'. If somebody wants help I'm happy to do it.

"When I stood island wide in 1997 there was an apprenticeship scheme - you couldn't go island wide until you'd served 30 months in the States. Thats a shame that's not still there as part of the new island wide system."

Mrs Lowe lost her seat at the 2020 island wide election, but says she continues to receive many phone calls from members of the public asking for her assistance, with some still believing her to be a States member, and others unsure where to turn for help or advice now there aren't any parish deputies. 

Pictured: Mary Lowe was a politician in Guernsey for 27 years.

Mrs Lowe said parish deputies used to frequently attend parish meetings, and had a stronger understanding of matters affecting voters than they do under the island wide system we have now.

She gave an example of a recent event, where a meeting on a topic which affected everyone island wide was attended by just one deputy. 

Deputy Aldwell had a very different experience to former-deputy Lowe as a past Constable of Torteval. 

She said every parish is very different, and she gave examples of current deputies who continue to attend parish meetings, most regularly the parish in which they live.

She also explained that douzaine meetings are private and it is for the douzaines to extend an invitation to deputies if they wish.

Deputy Aldwell did concede that "no one likes island wide voting" and of everyone she has spoken to in the 'upper parishes' "they would all like to go back to parish or district voting, or a hybrid".

Mr Digard said a problem he has seen is that "in practice, people don't know where to go", when they have a problem.

"If you have particular parish problem, you would go to your parish deputy. The fact (people) still go to Mrs Lowe confirms to me that there is that lacuna. People think 'who is going to look after me?'. Previously you would go to the parish deputy, if it was a bigger issue you would go for someone who had a higher profile in the States and had a reputation for looking after island wide topics."

Pictured (l-r): Mary Lowe, Deputy Sue Aldwell, Richard Digard.

"In the Vale's case we see quite a lot of this stuff coming through the website and social media and people are casting around for a focal point for someone who is going to express an interest in the problems they've got.

"If Mrs Lowe is getting these phone calls it suggests [island wide voting] really isn't working at a domestic and parish level," summarised Mr Digard.

Mrs Lowe told the Scrutiny panel: "I've always been for island wide but when you see the lack of experience in the States, I think maybe we've missed out there and we should have done some island wide and some for the parishes."

The Scrutiny hearing is aimed at collating feedback on the success of the first fully island wide election in 2020, ahead of the next scheduled general election in 2025.

1400 people had responded to a survey for the Scrutiny Management Committee, with other witnesses submitting evidence during the second half of this morning's public hearing and more due to speak on Wednesday during a second two-hour discussion.