Tributes paid to "inspirational" election candidate

Thursday 12 November 2020

Guernsey Party Founder and Deputy Chairman of CareWatch, Rick Lowe, has died.

Mr Lowe was initially in the running for this year's election, however he was forced to withdraw after being diagnosed with cancer.

Despite doing so, his name still appeared on the ballot sheet and more than 3,000 islanders voted for a man who has been described by friends and colleagues as "caring", "fearless" and "inspirational".

"Some devastating news," said his friend Dave Piesing. "I’ve just been told by the family that Rick Lowe has lost his valiant battle against illness and passed away peacefully this [Wednesday] evening. A truly top bloke and a really good mate. He will be sorely missed by many. Thoughts are with all the family."

Deputy Mark Helyar from the Guernsey Party said Mr Lowe had been an "inspiration for a new way of doing politics in Guernsey."

I’m so sorry. He was a good guy. I enjoyed campaigning alongside him last time, and sparring with him on here. He really put in the work, and he would have made a fine statesman. I’ll miss him. I’m sorry for your loss, and for his family - he so clearly adored them.

— Emilie (@emiliemcswiggan) November 12, 2020

The party posted that: "Rick will be sorely missed by his loving family and by his many friends."

Deputy Lowe stood for parish elections in 2016 and was keen to stand island-wide this year before tragedy hit. He took the "slightly different" step of leading his manifesto on other people's words and testimonials about him, rather than his own. 

One of those was Roger Allsopp OBE, who was Mr Lowe's Chairman on Care Watch. 

"He is someone who really cares for our community," he said in Mr Lowe's manifesto.

We are devastated by this evening’s news that our inspiration and founder, Rick Lowe, has passed away after a valiant battle against illness. Rick will be sorely missed by his loving family and by his many friends. Our thoughts are with them all. RIP Rick.

— TheGuernseyParty (@TheGsyParty) November 11, 2020

"When he speaks out he speaks the truth as he sees it. He is not afraid of authority or difficult or sensitive issues and he is certainly prepared to fight for the more vulnerable members of society."

Mr Lowe's professional background was in senior management in blue chip multinationals in Australia, before returning to the island to run a group of small businesses.