Why I'm Standing and Why It Matters

Over the past few years, like many Islanders, I’ve watched decisions coming out of the States with increasing concern. Not just because of what’s been decided — but because of how those decisions have been made, and how people have been treated along the way.

Parents in particular have shared with me their frustration — and their sense of betrayal — over the handling of the Les Varendes site and the decision to move Sixth Form students into the dilapidated buildings at La Mare. Many were told, clearly, that the Sixth Form centre at Les Varendes would be used to accommodate the additional students from the closure of La Mare High School. Instead, that space is now being used for office staff.

It’s not just a matter of building allocations. The Sixth Form offer itself is shrinking. The International Baccalaureate has been dropped. Drama has gone. The curriculum is narrowing. All of this sends a very clear message: that Guernsey’s Sixth Form is becoming an afterthought — and that’s a message we cannot afford to send to our young people.

When decisions like this are made without meaningful consultation, without clear explanation, and without any sense of accountability, people feel abandoned. And they’re right to.

During my previous term, I learned just how complex government decisions can be. Sometimes there are difficult trade-offs. But there is no excuse for poor communication, and no justification for treating the public as if they don’t deserve to be brought into the conversation.

That’s what really pushed me to stand again. It’s not just policy — it’s the growing sense that government is happening to people, not with them. That decisions are being made in silos, with no attempt to take Islanders with us, even when the decisions will shape Guernsey for generations to come.

We’re not the only place seeing this erosion of public trust — but that’s no excuse for accepting it here.

This campaign is about more than headlines or promises. It’s about rebuilding trust, opening up the conversation, and making government something that belongs to Islanders again.