Two more quit The Guernsey Party

Friday 06 January 2023

Deputies Nick Moakes and Bob Murray have become the latest members to leave The Guernsey Party.

It means the island’s only political party is left with just two representatives in the States chamber.

The Party confirmed the news in a brief statement issued this afternoon.

"We thank them for their respective contributions and wish them well," it said.

Both Deputies Moakes and Murray have been endorsed by The Guernsey Party since the 2020 island wide general election when it fielded eight candidates led by Deputy Mark Helyar. Six were successful.

Deputy Helyar himself resigned from the party at the start of November, citing the difficulty of holding a party position while being Policy & Resources’ treasury lead.

Pictured: Deputy Mark Helyar founded The Guernsey Party but left last year.

The Party does not support the introduction of a GST, which is a key part of P&R’s latest tax package - due to be debated and challenged later this month.

The group’s only remaining States members are Deputies Simon Vermeulen and John Dyke, both of whom have aligned themselves with the latest anti-GST campaign.

Pictured: Deputy Simon Vermeulen.

Deputy Chris Le Tissier resigned from the party in June shortly before he was suspended from the States for a year for comments he made on social media while posing as a member of the public.

Deputy Liam McKenna also joined and then left the party during the early part of this term.

The Guernsey Party has a committee made up of non-States members. Woody Milroy is the Chairman, Clive McMinn the Treasurer, Kate Miller-Helyar the Secretary and David Piesing an Adviser.

The only other political party to successfully get members elected to the States was the Guernsey Partnership of Independents.

It was dissolved as a parliamentary group in September 2021.