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Is this blog for me?

I want to be clear from the beginning that these blogs are for anybody who is interested in Guernsey politics. There are no party lines, and I’m not trying to push a particular argument or agenda. Well, except one …

I believe that a small community like ours will only flourish if all of us who live here take a turn at being involved in looking after it, and making decisions about its future.

I happen to think that we in Guernsey should think about government like other nations think about jury service – a duty that we owe to each other as citizens; a responsibility we all share, and which we should all be prepared to set aside time and disrupt normal life for, when it’s our turn.

Yes, a four-year political term is rather longer than a couple of weeks on a jury, and standing for election is very different to being randomly selected.

But I am sure that if more of us were willing to give it a shot, the whole Island would benefit from the insights, the variety of life experiences, and the professional skills that each of us would bring to government. We wouldn’t be so dependent on such a small group of stalwarts being willing, for better or worse, to stand for government year after year.

So that’s my agenda. I’d like to persuade you that you can run for the States – you’ve got what it takes, and you will rise to the challenge – and that it will be far better for Guernsey if you do, than if you choose to sit it out.

Of course I’ll talk about values and priorities – that’s unavoidable. And I suspect that everyone will find something here to disagree with!

But please believe this – I think your integrity is far more important than your ideology.

We may come from entirely different political perspectives, but 90% of politics is problem-solving – and for that, a good heart and fair judgment is far more valuable than belonging to the ‘right’ political philosophy, whatever that looks like.

If you truly care about Guernsey, and you are prepared to put the Island’s interests ahead of your own, then I want to see you succeed and I hope some of the information here will help you to do so. My aim in writing this is to pay forward what I’ve learned over the past four years – as much as I can – in the hope of helping others to hit the ground running and get the best out of Guernsey politics.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.1: Making the Decision
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Guernsey’s iconic women of the future?

Thank you for nominating a young woman or girl for our future iconic Guernsey women campaign to celebrate International Women’s Day!

Nominations close on Sunday 6 March at 17.00.

Please fill in the details below.

miriam-makeba-SA

Miriam Makeba - South Africa

Nominated by: Christine James

Zenzile Miriam Makeba (1932 to 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, United Nations goodwill ambassador, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa. In 2020 she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 women of the century. 

South Africa is ranked 12th in the world for percentage of women in national parliament: 45.8% (source: data.ipu.org) 

Are you from South Africa? Please email hello@womeninpubliclife.gg if there is a social or cultural group for people from South Africa in Guernsey.

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The original image “The Hague Jazz 2008 – Miriam Makeba” by Haags Uitburo is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. 

jacinda-adern-2

Jacinda Ardern - New Zealand

Nominated by: Martin Lock

Jacinda Ardern (born 1980) has served as prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. In 2019, she led the country through the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, rapidly introducing strict gun laws in response, and throughout 2020 she directed the country’s widely praised response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ardern was the world’s second elected head of government to give birth in office when her daughter was born in 2018. ‘An inspiring Prime Minister who brought a nation together with true leadership, empathy and compassion.’

New Zealand is ranked 4th in the world for percentage of women in national parliament: 48.3% (source: data.ipu.org) 

Other iconic women: Dame Whina Cooper, nominated by Claire Fisher, and Kate Sheppard, nominated by Anna Cooper.

Are you from New Zealand? You may be interested in joining the ANZACs in Guernsey Facebook group

Want to learn more about public office vacancies in Guernsey? 

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