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Deputy Carl Meerveld's Islanders Association has launched its campaign for the 2020 election at Beau Sejour, leading with the message that deputies need to take back control of the island's government.
Deputy Meerveld, Deputy John Gollop and Barry Dodd and Stephen Wall - two other members of the Association - told the small group attending the launch that deputies were now in a position where they were always held responsible if something went wrong, but had little to no power over operations.
That power now sat in the hands of the ciivl service, and the situation was only getting worse, they said.
Deputy John Gollop gave a speech on changing government in Guernsey.
Government's structure and how it has changed was discussed at length by Deputy Meerveld and Deputy Gollop, but they also addressed how he wanted it to be changed. They looked all the way back to the 1980s and said it was clear how, inch by inch, the politicians in Guernsey had lost increasing amounts of power to 'efficiencies'.
Deputy Meerveld said in an ideal world, the Islanders would have a majority of deputies elected to the States, and that would give them the power to take back control. He also wants to field a mix of ‘blue and white collar’ candidates whom people support because of their policies, and belief that they will work effectively as a team.
"Right now, politicians are the scapegoats if things go wrong, yet when we see something we think needs to change, we are told we cannot do that," he said.
"We need to reclaim our island. We have lost control. We have lost that direct link of us petitioning our politicians and our politicians being able to go and get it for us. We also need to take government back from consultants."
The crowd at the launch was hampered by the good weather, according to Deputy Meerveld.
Deputy Meerveld clarified that by 'taking back control' he was not talking about deputies interfering in the day to day life of civil servants, but just having more control over the most senior 'chief officers', and taking the powers to direct policy back from them.
The Association will approach the election with the following priorities, which it has drawn from surveying its members:
Deputy Meerveld said these priorities and the manifesto they would launch before the election would 'hold them to account'.
"They wouldn't just be drawn up two weeks before the election and forgotten about a month down the line," he said. "People would be able to look back and assess directly what we have done, or what progress we have made toward our promises, and if we hadn't done anything, we simply wouldn't be reelected."
Deputy Meerveld did acknowledge that quality of candidacy was very important, and they would be looking to field as many, quality, candidates as they could.
Pictured top: The Association's new slogan, 'reclaim our island'.
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