Manifesto

Managing Change With Leadership
I need a strong mandate from you to get decisions moving and ask the questions other politicians don’t want to answer.  I have asked more oral questions than any other member.

I am still one of the younger candidates but have focused experience with innovative ideas to offer.  I don’t go for too many costly consultants, vacuous visions and meaningless mission statements!  What we need is practical common sense combined with knowledgeable gut instinct backed by evidence of what will work on Guernsey.

The corona-virus crisis has produced effective leadership and good outcomes.  But I want a huge personal mandate to make a positive difference for you.  I am willing to lead scrutiny, legislation, States Assembly reform or sit on economic development, or policy and resources having acquired unique perspectives and continuity of experience.

My Pledge To Modernise Society
We need to keep our international obligations and promises by prioritising resources to sign up globally treaties to outlaw discrimination against women, and disabled people.  I promise to push strongly for the positive heritage of Deputy Michelle Le Clerc my proposer to continue.  Modern attractive compassionate social policy is part of our international offer and autonomous identity.  We need a new reciprocal health agreement and more access to special care in areas like neurology, urology and palliative care.

My Mandate To Strengthen Care Options
I believe that any attempt to oblige people to sell their homes to finance excessive care costs is unacceptable to many.  I support an equity release scheme as a tool to assist with current private top- up fees but my policy is to negotiate more States Rate care beds and uprate pensions beyond inflation.  If necessary if investments don’t perform brilliantly, I would support increasing the Long Teen Care and Health Service fund contribution rates.

We need more sponsored sheltered housing with hopefully another extra care complex out west.  I will now oppose any reduction in the States promise to prevent people selling their homes.  I strongly support strengthening the motivation of allowing and encouraging people to save more money before they become ineligible to receiving vital Personal benefits for need and support and medical costs. Family friendly policies are needed including child care allowances and fertility treatment opportunities.

A Mandate To Manage Money Better
We need our thinking hats on here and there is nothing cuddly about my rigorous approach to fiscal policies. We need to help those of us who struggle with costly household expenditure with more targeted support and less taxation.  Many islanders are worse off as lower middle earners than elsewhere.  We don’t do enough to help people who are just about managing.  I support raising personal allowances significantly, introducing lower fifteen percent rates of tax and higher benefits limitations, and in work incentives such as earnings disregards and an examination of universal personal income ideas.  Modern legislation reforming personal debts and bankruptcy needs to be updated and introduced.

This can be paid for by restraining higher paid public sector posts, more emphasis on consumption taxes and economic growth by allowing a relaxation of population controls for skilled younger professionals in many industries.  I support a reinvigorated public accounts committee with an Auditor General to cut costs.  And as a long shot, a properly regulated hemp recreational safe cannabis industry might bring back better horticulture without the weeds!

My Ideas On Town And Country Planning
I believe in modern Town Centre Management with professional democratic citizen forum consultation with clear enhancement decisions made about further redevelopment of the North Beach area and rebuilding St Peter Port harbour better.  As a UK green party member and delegate I obviously support strengthening biodiversity but balanced with economic considerations.  I certainly would ban noisy motorcycles and consider restricting their age from fourteen to sixteen!

We need clarity on planning policy and practice.  Experience tells me we have to choose between a politically directed model and an entire professional process structure.  The current mish-mash of quarterly open planning meetings, delayed decisions and tribunals trumping political decisions needs a review to change.  I will promote more exemptions and loans and grants for energy conservation and historic buildings.  We need more green lungs and island wildlife habitats and green field conservation protection.  I support Housing Action Policies which revitalise areas such as Leales Yard and La Fontaine for first time home buyers, and selling off energy inefficient housing stock whilst commissioning and building state of the art access friendly replacement stock.

A Manifesto To Manage Economic Growth Recovery And Human Capital
I will support government financing not just an improving bus service, but innovate with targeted subsidies economically enabling air and sea links to Alderney, Jersey, England and France to ensure routes are frequent, regular and affordable for both visitors and locals of moderate means.  We need investment in infrastructure and tourism to ensure sustainability of transport links.  Investment in human capital, vocational and lifelong skills with education is essential to secure a bright future.

Part of our future growth means getting on with the obvious people’s consensus for a ground breaking, all ability, three school green ribbon model with the retention of the Grammar site especially for the outstanding sixth form centre and potential tertiary complementary integration with the Guernsey Institute which requires priority funding and redevelopment, preferably with restaurant training facilities too maybe attracting students from abroad to revitalise salon culinary hospitality. We should be the 'Can Do' society that builds back better!

A Mandate To Reform Government
I believe long term Guernsey would have a clearer more accountable and open system with a return of Ministerial positions and collective policy co ordination in a more Cabinet executive type structure.  The role of a Deputy needs re- evaluation as the current position lacks clear duties, research and secretarial support, proper corporate training outside alleged jollies and the payment package is more attractive to retired people and those with other jobs or business roles rather than to a younger and more inclusive gender balanced population.  We have a democratic deficit.

States members need to be accountable and lead change from the front, challenging and supervising some operational issues when structural blocks, poor decision making or difficult personalities working from silos need efficient solutions and well balanced change management.  I have pushed frequently for mid-term presidential committee re-elections to ensure we promote the right people and ensure teams that can work together.

We need greater political executive governance, democratic political over site, and control to drive forward projects, programmes, perhaps unnecessarily expensive Information Technology packages, partnership executive decisions, major infrastructure plans and spends, and reform of procurement.  The States owned trading boards with their annual revenues above £207 million and employing 1300 workers may need greater autonomy and inward investment but still needs democratic visionary leadership and a sense of direction for the community.

Procurement policy procedures and bureaucracy need urgent re-engineering and reform with the outcome of enabling quicker spend on much delayed capital investment and infrastructural revive and thrive projects which particularly bring instant economic community benefits.  We must rebuild trust in government and place millions of pound into local families pockets through value added skills and employment opportunities.

All of us elected or re-elected need to rebuild unity, trust, a sense of purpose working together.  And above all move in an inclusive but right direction being effective and proactive in doing ACTION and delivering on our PROMISE and true positive POTENTIAL!

We must all have the political will to win and not be distracted by infighting or pointless flip flopping, only changing direction when new situations, facts and evidence emerges so we do things differently and rebuild better!

Sincerely

John Gollop

Links
My 2020 manifesto as a PDF
Election 2020 - my candidate page
Election 2020 - candidate question and answers
My previous 2016 manifesto
My page on the States of Guernsey (Government) website