Can we help each other out, even if we’re not in a party?

Yes. Candidates have always worked together at previous elections, and there is no reason why this one should be different. If you’re in a Party, then there are particular rules about Party spending which you will need to follow. If you are an independent candidate, working together with other candidates, then just remember that you need to keep track of your expenses, and that you are still bound by the individual candidate spending limit of £6,000.

Good luck! And try to enjoy the experience as much as you can – there’s nothing else quite like it, and you’ll learn so much from it, whatever happens on Election Day. Thank you for having the courage to step up and do something for Guernsey.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

Should I get to know other candidates?

Yes, definitely! Standing for election is a unique experience, and the people best placed to understand it, to sympathise with its challenges and to share its joys, are the other people who are doing it alongside you. The friendships that I made during the last Election campaign remained some of my strongest friendships throughout this States, whether we agreed with each other or not.

Once you are elected, you’re going to have to work with people on Committees, and build consensus to get policies through the States. It helps to have good working relationships with your colleagues to make that happen. Don’t be snobbish about party lines – whether you belong to a party, or you’re an independent, you will need friends from across the States, and there’s no better time to start making them than now.

Also, bear in mind that you are going to have to elect Committee Presidents and Committee Members only a few days after you are elected. Some of the people who put themselves up for election will be well-known, but others will be completely new to the States and to you. You might find that you want to serve on a particular Committee, but you’re not sure what it would be like to work with the President or other Committee Members.

You won’t have much time to get to know them after the Election result, so start now – get to know your fellow candidates, and get an idea of what it would be like to see them in particular roles, or to work alongside them on issues that you care about. It may feel like an indulgence to spend time getting to know your fellow candidates instead of being out there canvassing, but it will feel like time well spent once you’re elected and you’re suddenly facing a lot of important decisions about who takes on what role, and who you’ll be working alongside, in this new States.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

How do I juggle other work and family responsibilities?

The campaign period can be quite intense, and normal routines go out of the window as you try to fit in hustings, events, virtual campaigning and maybe even door-knocking.

I think it is quite helpful to make a plan for how you want to spend your time in the week ahead. If you have family activities or daily routines that need to be honoured, or if your workplace does not allow you much flexibility, then it is all the more important to plan, and to prioritise spending your campaign time on the activities you think are going to have most impact.

Whatever you do, try and keep some kind of balance if you can – don’t lose sight of your family or your friends, or completely stop the activities that keep you healthy and sane. You’ll need them to refresh you and to buoy you up – and to remind you why you’re doing this. (If it’s not to build a better future for your children, or to protect and enhance the things about Guernsey that make you love this community, why is it? And if it is those things, remember that you get to enjoy them too!)

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

How should I organise my time during the campaign period?

That depends on how much time you have got to dedicate to campaigning. A lot of candidates will still be working during the campaign period, and will be trying to juggle family responsibilities as well – it’s a lot!

I think you need a blend of face-to-face contact with voters and virtual campaigning (answering emails, being active on social media, responding to media enquiries – activities which reach a broader audience, but with less of a human connection). If you don’t have a lot of time to spare, then door-knocking is probably not much of a realistic option, but you can still manage face-to-face contact by going along to hustings, or even by standing in a public place with a banner identifying you as a candidate, and talking to people as they pass by.

Be careful with social media – it can really draw you in, and you can find you’re spending a lot of time on there, but only actually talking to a small pool of people. Be reasonably strict with yourself about how much time you’re going to give to social media, and how much time to answering emails and other virtual campaign activities.

Where you don’t have control over the timing of an event (hustings or presentations, for example) do get those in your diary nice and early.

Aside from that, I think it helps to have a plan for how you’re going to spend your time during the week ahead. You probably don’t want to plan much more than a week at a time, because it’s a really intense period and you want to give yourself enough flexibility to respond as things change! A plan isn’t a promise – don’t beat yourself up if you don’t stick to schedule – but it helps you to think through how much time you want to give to different campaign activities, and to make sure you’re balancing your time sensibly.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

What kind of help am I likely to need?

That depends entirely on you, and your circumstances, and how you want to run your campaign!

For example, if you’ve got your own printed manifesto or leaflet, and you want to get it out to all Islanders, you might need an army of friends and family to help you distribute it. Or, if you’ve decided to use social media for the first time for this Election, you might need someone who can help you to find your way around it.

Or, possibly, the kind of help you’ll find most useful may have nothing directly to do with your campaign. If you have children to look after, then the most important thing might be friends or family who are willing to provide childcare while you go out canvassing or attend hustings.

The next few weeks are going to be intense and your schedule will be all over the place – if you have lovely friends who can drop in with a meal you can warm up in the microwave, or who might be happy to do something as simple as washing a sink full of dishes or passing a hoover for you, then lean on them. Your friends are likely to be cheering you on, and wanting to support you – if you’re not sure how best to ask them for help, feel free just to leave this blog post somewhere they might see it!

Finally, sometimes you just need moral support. You’ll get a lot of that from your fellow candidates – you’re all going through something extraordinary together and, although you are competitors, you can also be friends. Lean on your existing support networks as well, and make sure you take time out of campaigning to be with people who refresh you, who make you feel good about yourself and the world, and who fill you with the energy you need to go out and campaign once more.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

Can other people help me with my campaign?

Yes. People can volunteer to help you out with any part of your campaign. Be careful to check the spending guidance to make sure you know what activities you have to include in your election expenses and which ones you don’t. Generally speaking, help from volunteers doesn’t need to be accounted for, but there are a few cases where that’s not true – for example, if someone is giving you the benefit of their professional service, but not charging for it, you may have to account for that as an expense in “money’s worth”.

People may also want to help you out financially, by making you a gift or a loan of money or goods. If so, please make sure you check the rules about what kind of donations you’re allowed to accept. (If you receive donations from people who aren’t supposed to make them, you will need to return them. If you can’t return a donation, because you can’t trace who it came from, then you will need to hand it over to the Greffier instead.) You are required to disclose donations worth more than £50.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

Should I be issuing my own media releases?

Media releases are short pieces that you write to explain your view on a particular issue, or to bring people’s attention to something important. As Deputies, you will find it helpful to write the occasional media release on topics that you’re working on – you can send those out directly to the local media, and they will usually cover the story.

I am not sure whether any of the local media will run media releases from candidates now that the campaign period is in full swing – it is worth checking with them directly, before you invest a lot of time in writing things that won’t see the light of day!

Whether or not you want to write media releases during your campaign, if you want to make sure you are on the media’s radar, one helpful thing to do is to create a list for yourself with the main contact email addresses of each of the local news outlets. You’ll be able to find these on each media outlet’s website.

Then, when you publish your thoughts on an important issue – for example, if you write a blog, or put information out on your Facebook page – consider sending your media contacts the link, to bring it to their attention. I wouldn’t suggest doing this for every single thing you write about! You don’t want people to hear from you so often that your emails become background noise. But pick a few well-chosen issues and share those.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

How should I respond to questions from the media?

As with questions from voters, just try and answer honestly and to the best of your ability. Your answers are going to be read or heard by lots of different people – some will be excited to hear what you say, and others will be unimpressed. Don’t worry about that too much: you can’t please everyone, and it is better to be frank than to tie yourself in knots trying to do so.

Remember that the media are likely to be working to fairly tight deadlines, so try and respond promptly to questions if you can. There will be limits depending on the format – if you’re told you’ve got two minutes to record a message to voters, then draft a script for yourself and read it through to make sure it’s not longer than two minutes. If you are asked to reply to a question in 50 words or less, then stick to that word limit.

That way, you won’t run the risk of having the end of your last sentence cut off and looking a bit silly, and you won’t start off on the wrong foot with the people who are going to be covering the next four years of your political career!

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

How will the media cover the Election?

That depends on the type of media. The broadcast media (radio and TV) are required to make sure their coverage is balanced. Since there are more than a hundred candidates, in practice this means that they won’t cover much that directly involves candidates – because it is very difficult to give so many people equal treatment. The print media is likely to go into Election coverage in a bit more depth.

In previous elections, most media outlets have done some kind of election special – a supplement in the Press, one-minute manifestos on the radio. If you are offered the opportunity to take part in those this time around, take it. It is a good way of reaching an engaged audience.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

How do I deal with vested interests?

When you are canvassing, you may meet people who clearly have some kind of business or financial interest in the States making a certain decision. You may be invited to presentations by organisations who have or want a commercial relationship with the States.

Remember that, if you are elected, you will be part of the States – that means you’ll be responsible for making sure that taxpayers’ money is handled with probity, and that we get good value for money from the contracts we have. It helps to bear this in mind when canvassing, so that you remain impartial and don’t make promises you may not be able to keep.

With people who have clear vested interests, as with anyone else, listen and learn. Treat people with respect and hear them out. During the campaign period, you are educating yourself as much as you are sharing your views with others. But remember that you are only hearing one side of a story. The States may not get things right as often as it should, but it probably also doesn’t get things wrong as often as those who would like a different outcome might say.

So listen; apply your own judgment; be cautious about what promises you can make while you are still a candidate; but if you come across anything that doesn’t seem right to you – an unfair relationship, or an opportunity missed – make a note of it, and look into it further once you have been elected.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected