Independent (adjective) – free from outside control

The debate around parties and independent candidates is a new one for Guernsey, following the referendum which led to the adoption of island-wide voting.

It seems IWV has complicated the campaigning process for candidates and the selection process for voters.

We have already seen the emergence of some out-and-out parties and the group that has led to some confusion in the island – the Guernsey Partnership of Independent Candidates.

Yes, the Guernsey partnership has registered as a party, as required by the legal process, but its members are, and will remain, independent. The common denominator for them is the desire to work well together and with all other elected deputies and to be decisive, effective and efficient. There is no other agenda. Those who are successfully elected will not be ganging up, following a whip or participating in block voting.

I am one of them. I am truly independent. Nobody is going to tell me what to think or how to vote.

Some will argue that independent politicians are the Guernsey way and none of us want to see the sometimes-nonsensical party behaviour that happens in other jurisdictions. I agree.

If elected I may disagree at times and on some issues with other members of the Guernsey Partnership as much as I might with other fellow politicians.

But the Guernsey people deserve to be governed by 38 deputies who will work well together to move things forward, be accountable, stand by decisions democratically made and treat each other with respect.

Of course, there will be other newly-elected deputies who will also aspire to these values. I say that is particularly good news indeed for Guernsey at a time when swift, decisive, collaborative action is sorely needed.