Is the party over for Barry Weir?

Saturday 10 October 2020

Two political parties are set to become major forces in the next States’ Assembly, but the first to register for the 2020 election - the Alliance Party Guernsey - suffered a huge blowout and their website and Facebook page have now 'gone dark'.

Barry Weir's Alliance Party was formed in February, before the election was pushed back to October. However, that head start doesn't seem to have helped them to engage with voters.

“We haven’t been doing knocking on doors so much,” said Alliance Party Candidate Elaine Mahy, who appeared apprehensive on the night. “Instead we were doing our own hustings and answering some email questions.”

Another candidate, Arron Hawke, told Express he "wasn't expecting too much" while waiting for the declaration at Beau Sejour. The pair struck a very different tone to their APG Leader Barry Weir, who was professing confidence that all 11 APG candidates would be elected. 

When it came to the declaration, Tony Cunningham was the highest ranking candidate, coming home in 87th place out of 119. Barry Weir could only manage 107th position with 1,881 votes.  

In an early Facebook post, the Alliance Party had claimed that they wanted to avoid 'US-style personality politics,' instead focusing on policy. But Mrs Mahy felt that being part of the party had put her ‘one step back,’ and that they had ‘probably not’ done enough to engage with the public.

Pictured: Before the declaration was made, Alliance Party Candidate Elaine Mahy said she felt a 'mixture of nervousness and not wanting to know.'

Her concerns seem well-founded in hindsight, as only three Alliance Party candidates received more than 2,000 votes.

In a statement following the election, a spokesperson for the Alliance Party suggested that Guernsey voters ‘weren’t ready’ for a shift to party politics.

“It is still our honestly held belief that if Guernsey really wants decisive, political leadership that gets things done in a transparent way, that it will ultimately require strong political parties.

“We appreciate that party politics was a new concept for Islanders, but believe that, like all modern, developed democracies, it will become necessary as voters seek certainty and demand accountability.”

There was certainly some animosity towards parties leading up to the election, as Partnership of Independents candidate Tina Bury discussed before the results.

Pictured: Incoming Deputy Tina Bury said that parties had been a stumbling block for some voters, but that she had found the 'wealth of experience and knowledge' of her colleagues invaluable during her campaign.

“It’s clearly put some people off. I think in particular, the Partnership being ‘not a party but a party’ has taken a while for people to wrap their heads around.” 

But with 16 of the 38 new Deputies being party members, it seems in the end Islanders were ready for the change – even if they weren't sold on the Alliance Party's approach.

The spokesperson congratulated the successful candidates, wishing them well for the political term ahead. However, the Party’s future was left up in the air: “We will not make any knee-jerk reactions as to what will happen with the Party until we have had proper time to reflect.”

Their Facebook page, however, has been deleted – and their website has been stripped down to just the Party logo.

Pictured: The Alliance Party has deleted its Facebook page, and its future remains uncertain after failing to get a single candidate into the next States' Assembly.