Neil Inder

Personal Statement

I have flown the flag for common sense over ideology and the respect for the public purse. I am President of the States Assembly and Constitution Committee. After the Referendum it fell to me to put together a team to deliver the Island’s first ever Island Wide General Election. Against all odds my team delivered that Referendum result. The next four years will be about the economy, education and employment.

• Pragmatism over idealism
• Economy at the Centre of Government
• If we haven’t got it, we shouldn’t spend it
• Do what we need, not what we want
• Public money is taxpayer’s money
• Tourism: I’m in the business
• Small business: I know how hard it is
• When government gets it wrong, fess up

Manifesto

When first elected I promised the public a fierce defence of Guernsey, its people, its culture and its way of life. I kept my word.

Having spent my life in business, creating employment opportunities, I know two things; how difficult it is to earn money and how easy it is to spend it. “There is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayer’s money” a Prime minister once said.

As someone who was elected to represent the People, in every debate and at every Committee meeting, in every vote I have scrutinised and put value-for-money first.

The next few years will not be easy. Your elected representatives will need to hold their nerve and you will need to elect individuals that you can trust.

EDUCATION

I fought hard for the Grammar School system of education and scholarships. I deeply regret the decision made by the States. However, that decision has been made and I would be flying a ‘false flag’ to promise a support to the return to selection.

What is clear is the two-school model is dead. Rejected by teaching professionals and the public, we are looking at a version of three schools. If the public and the teachers want ‘community schools’ as I have always argued, then there will need to be compromises by all sides.

Education is critical to all Islanders and sadly individuals within this government have used the teachers and children as a political football. The new government must come together and fix this omnishambles.

The sooner we hand over the running of the schools to a Governorship the better. My red line is the split of the 6th form over multiple sites. The 6th form works well – let’s keep it!

FISCAL POLICY

If a fiscal policy is the method by which a government adjusts its spending levels and tax rates to influence the economy, Guernsey’s is not working as well as it could. What is required is a genuine and open public conversation:

• What kind of services do we want the government to provide?
• What role can the charitable sector play in providing services?
• What is the difference between ‘what we want’ and ‘what we need’?

Once we have established those first principles:

• How do we effect that transformation in four years?
• What are you prepared to pay for it?

I am certain that the right people in new positions can have that conversation and I am more than prepared to put myself at the centre of it.

ECONOMY - Tourism Marketing

2021 will be crucial to the reinvigoration of the Guernsey brand. The message is clear from the tourism sector - ‘get visitors to Guernsey and we will get them spending’.

If returned on October 7th I will seek a full term on the Committee for Economic Development and will put myself forward for a role to lead portions of ‘Revive and Thrive’.

ECONOMY - Tourism Hotels

There is a lot of investment going on in Guernsey. Glamping sites in St Peters, a new hotel in Town and, potentially, large development on the West Coast - a lot of good news stories. I am of the view that hotels, guesthouses, and self-catering that cannot make a living need a way out of the sector. We need to move the conversation on.

ECONOMY - Aurigny

Aurigny is key to the vibrancy of the 2021 tourism season. I have made statements and arguments in the States along the lines of “Aurigny should not be carting air around, if it has spare capacity then fill those seats”.

As we move towards Easter, I will push for cheaper airfares into the Island to fill the beds. We have one opportunity and it is in our hands. Aurigny must act as an economic enabler and prepare for a great 2021.

ECONOMY - Population

The Population Management Regime has worked for the Island up to a point. But, in my view, it needs to be more ‘economy facing’ than ‘population control’.

The Island needs to focus on younger and more vibrant businesses. I will support and promote new business into the Island and assist the entrepreneurial spirit, and if it means a limited lift in population then so be it. Business brings jobs.

IN THE STATES

Harbour Requete

I led a successful Requete that directed the States to focus on a harbour development that will ensure Guernsey’s security for many years to come.

L’Ancresse Tank Wall - Sursis

I led a Sursis to stop the States ruining one the Island’s pristine beaches. Eventually the project was stopped by Requete.

Inert Waste - Sursis

I led a sursis to try and get government to reassess this project. In the first debate I told the house ‘only in Guernsey would we build a hole in the sea when we have holes in the ground’

The filling in of Longue Hougue South is an environmental disaster waiting to happen. The loss of eel grass, habitat and the destruction of our intertidal zone needs reassessment.

Government’s ability to cost any significant infrastructure development is fatally flawed and I hope that a new Assembly would consider Les Vardes as the most practical environmental and fiscal solution for the Island’s long-term requirements.