Review of 2021: April to June

Friday 31 December 2021

As 2021 comes to an end, Express looks back at some of the highs and lows of the year. From political controversy to new covid variants, the Tokyo Olympics and claims that Guernsey is in one of its periodic housing crises. These are some of the headline stories we covered.

The start of April saw the roll-out of another phase of the Bailiwick's covid vaccination programme with a focus on age instead of profession.

The decision to focus on age did not please everyone. Some raised concerns that teachers and law enforcement officers were not prioritised.

“Having looked at it, we can, quite simply, vaccinate these key staff groups quicker by progressing at speed through the already-defined age groups,” said the President of the Committee for Health and Social Care, Deputy Al Brouard.

His Royal Highness Prince Philip died on 9 April at the age of 99. The Bailiwick began a period of mourning which lasted until 18 April. The States' Assembly held a special sitting to pay their respects.

Pictured: Prince Philip died on 9 April. A national one-minute silence was held on 17 April.

Despite ongoing travel restrictions, rugby coach Warren Gatland was given special permission to visit the island in April, but the British and Irish Lions ended up settling on Jersey for their training camp. 

In May, the Bailiwick settled into what was called "new normal” as the Civil Contingencies Authority prepared for increasing freedom to travel to the UK and the Common Travel Area.

Initially, this meant relying on the vaccination programme and continued emphasis on personal hygiene while vaccination passports were developed.

“We’re trying to get back to a new normal,” said the Vice-President of the Policy & Resources Committee, Deputy Heidi Soulsby, who also sat as an advisor to the Civil Contingencies Authority throughout 2021. “It won’t be absolutely normal. It won’t be exactly the same as what we had before March [2020]. There will still be controls.”

Pictured: In the second quarter of 2021, the States' covid strategy tipped from reliance on non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as social distancing, to reliance on a vaccination programme which was enthusiastically embraced by most Bailiwick residents. 

Also in May, several WW2 bombs were discovered in local waters and subsequently blown up in controlled explosions and France threatened to pull the plug on the island's electricity supply in a dispute about fishing.

In June, the States rejected most elements of a multi-million pound plan for the future of Guernsey's harbours. 

They were also presented with a new Government Work Plan intended to guide the Bailiwick through recovery from covid until the end of the States' term in June 2025. As part of the Plan, the Policy & Resources Committee requested - and ultimately secured - unprecedented authority to approve hundreds of millions of pounds of additional expenditure without further reference to the States' Assembly.

Meanwhile, debates about cannabis raged on with Deputy Gavin St Pier arguing that regulation and taxation is now the right way to go rather than prohibition. 

June also brought great news for local sportspeople who made the cut for the Tokyo Olympics.

“Competing in the Olympics has always been one of my biggest goals in my career,” said tennis player Heather Watson, who was joined by athlete Cameron Chalmers.

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Review of 2021: January to March