What will my first day be like?

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Your very first day – the day after you get the Election results – will probably be pretty weird and surreal. Honestly, I cannot remember the day after Election Day at all (and that’s certainly not because we celebrated too hard the night before!). I think you’ll probably start to get information about what’s coming up next — induction events and other important dates — straight away. There’s probably a lot of induction stuff that can’t happen until after you’ve been formally sworn in, but there will definitely be some in that first week, and it’s wise to try and be there for as much of it as you can.

If you have been working full-time up to now, I suspect you’ll also need to spend some time making arrangements with your employer – whether that’s handing in your notice, or agreeing a working pattern that allows you to do justice to your States’ duties. There might be all sorts of life admin you need to do in those early weeks in the States – don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues how they’re managing it, too.

Your first official day will be the day that you’re sworn in (in the morning) and elect the President of the Policy & Resources Committee (in the afternoon). This is probably also the day that a lot of official admin will happen – security passes, computer equipment, pay arrangements. You will be a fairly captive audience – you’ll spend most of the day in the Royal Court – so officials should easily be able to make sure you’ve got what you need, and you can always ask directly if not.

Because you are plunged straight into Committee elections on your first official day in the States – I cannot stress this enough – you really want to think about using the week from Election Day to swearing in, to get to know your colleagues and to get to know the roles and responsibilities of Committees, so that you can make your own judgments about who is best suited to what role, and who you would like to work with. Take the opportunity to make sure your colleagues know what you’re interested in, and what you’d like to do, as well. The period of Committee elections will fly by, and it’ll feel like putting together a really complex puzzzle with a blindfold on. You can at least make it a bit easier for yourself by doing your research in advance.

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Am I a States Member straight away?

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No. There is about a week between getting the results of the Election and new States members being sworn in.

This allows time for a recount (if one is called for). It also provides an opportunity for you to start learning your way around the States, and getting to know your fellow candidates. Make the most of it.

The old States was officially the government throughout the Election period, and remains the government until the end of term on 15 October. Although it is common practice to limit the amount of business done during this time, some Committees have had to (or will still have to) submit policy letters during this period.

Sometimes this is needed, for example, because changes have to be made before the start of a new calendar year. This means you’ll have to consider proposals at your November or December meetings. The best way of giving you the opportunity to do that is to get policy letters lodged before the end of this term. Once you are sworn in, and new Committees have been established, you are within your rights to reject, amend, or even withdraw, any policy letters that have been lodged by the States before you. But if you’re going to do that, try to understand why the previous States submitted this proposal, in this way, at this time before you do.

So you’ve got about a week to get used to the idea of being a Deputy before you officially become one. Make the most of this to get to know your future colleagues, to learn about the way that the States and its Committees work, and to get yourself set up with the equipment you need to do the job. Take up any induction opportunities you’re offered. One of the very first proper States Meetings you have will be approving the Budget for 2021, so the next few weeks are going to be pretty full-on.

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What if I am elected – what happens next?

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If you’re elected, there’s a gap of about a week before you officially become a Deputy (when you’re “sworn in”). During that time, there may be a recount, which could result in some people changing position. But there’s important work to do in the week before swearing-in, so don’t hang about waiting for the results of a recount – if it happens, it happens, and you can deal with it as it comes.

Swearing in will happen on the morning of Friday 16th October. Until the night of Thursday 15th October, the previous States are officially still the government. You take over when you’re sworn in. Make sure this date is in your calendar, and you’ve found cover for any other responsibilities you might have: it’s not something you can miss.

When you are sworn in, you make a promise to serve the Island and the Crown to the best of your ability. I have written about that here. The important thing to know is that you can choose between an oath (which has a kind of religious meaning) and an affirmation. You should be offered the option – but if you’re not, and you have strong feelings about this, then just ask whoever is in touch with you about the arrangements for the swearing in.

(For what it’s worth, I chose the affirmation. My belief in god is sketchy at best but, more to the point, I strongly believe in the total separation of Church and State. My promise to the community is exactly that – a vow between me and the people I’d been elected to serve – and it stands alone. But I know some of my colleagues feel the opposite – that the promise you’re making to the community is so solemn and serious that it deserves to be made in the eyes of God. The choice you make is deeply personal, even if the swearing in itself is very public.)

Your swearing-in happens in the Royal Court. Friends and family can normally watch from the public gallery, if you want to bring them along. (Be mindful of everyone else – don’t pack the gallery with your supporters; leave space for others too.)

If you have any anxieties about what you should wear, or what you should do, or what the swearing-in itself would be like, talk to your fellow Deputies-elected who’ve done this before. I’m sure they’ll be able to set your mind at rest. Don’t stress about it! It’s just a fancy ceremony to start the term. What comes next is more important.

Starting on the afternoon of Friday 16 October, you’ll be thrown into a week of Committee Elections. First the President of P&R (on the 16th), then the members of that Committee (on Saturday 17th – don’t miss it). Then Committee Presidents on Monday 19th, and finally Committee Members on Wednesday 21st.

There is always a bit of movement in Committee membership during the term – but it’s hard to predict where, or when, so don’t bank on that. Think of this as picking the team you want to work with for the next 4.5 years. Those are quite serious decisions, with long-term consequences, so you need to be ready to make them when the time comes.

That’s why it’s so important to use the week between Election Day and swearing-in to get to know the other people who will be in the States with you. You might have met or made friends with some on the campaign trail, but I bet there will be others you barely know as well. These are people who will be competing for your vote for a role, or wanting to serve alongside you (or with you as their President, or vice versa) on a Committee. Take time to get the measure of them now. Go along to the formal induction events you’ll be offered – although it will feel like too much information, and you’ll want to revisit it later in the term – but, above all, take time informally to get to know people. You’ve got some big decisions ahead.

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Do I need to sign or swear anything?

You will have to sign and vouch various things, at various different stages of the Election process. The best place to start, as always, is the official candidates’ guide on the Election 2020 website.

Your election campaign starts with the nominations process. This is the time when you submit your name, supported by a proposer and seconder, to the Bailiff. This term, nominations open on Tuesday 1 September, and close at 4pm on Friday 4 September 2020. If you miss that window of opportunity, you won’t be able to stand for Election.

The nomination form is a standard document, which you can get from the Royal Court or download from the Elections website. As part of the form, you have to sign a declaration confirming that you are eligible to stand as a candidate, and whether or not you have any unspent criminal convictions. You also have to declare whether or not you are part of a political party (and which one).

That is the main formality at the start of the election period. At the end, of course, you’ll have to submit a statement of your expenses (regardless of whether you’ve been elected) – and if you are elected, there will be all sorts of other forms to fill in, as there always are at the start of any new job.

One thing I think it is worth knowing, at this stage, is that if you are successful, you will need to swear an oath of office. This is a promise to serve the Island to the best of your ability, and also to respect the Crown. I have to admit, I found the second bit hard. I could do it, because I wasn’t going into the States with any plans to try and change Guernsey’s constitutional position – but I’m not a natural monarchist, as you can probably imagine, so it involved a bit of wrestling with my conscience.

The promise to serve your community is more straightforward – after all, that’s why you’re standing for election. But I think it’s only right that you should know, before you make a decision to stand for office, exactly what you will be committing to when you are sworn in! The oath is mentioned in the candidates’ guidance, and I think you could request the full text from the Greffe if you wanted to.

P.S. “Swearing an oath” has religious connotations – it involves making a promise before whatever God you believe in. If you don’t believe in any God (or even if you do, but want to maintain a separation between Church and State) you have the option of “making an affirmation” instead. It is essentially the same promise, but with no divine dimension. When I was sworn in, there were just a handful of us who took that option, but that was fine.

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