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De Sausmarez to be Guernsey's first female chief minister

De Sausmarez to be Guernsey's first female chief minister

BBC News19 hours ago
Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez has been elected as Guernsey's first female president of the Policy and Resources Committee (P&R). She beat Deputies Jonathan Le Tocq and Mark Helyar in the election after being proposed by Deputy Tina Bury and seconded by Deputy Marc Lainé. She received 22 votes from deputies in a secret ballot to become the island's new chief minister. As part of her pitch for the job she promised to review the island's tax system before the end of the year.
De Sausmarez said when it came to issues like the island's population, there needed to be a better approach to policy co-ordination from the States' top committee."We need P&R to do some high level strategic planning, rather than constantly firefighting," she said.
In his pitch for the job Deputy Jonathan le Tocq said: "I believe strongly in consensus, not combat and I believe the presidency of policy and resources should be held by someone who can unite, not divide." Former vice-president of P&R Mark Helyar received 11 votes, while Le Tocq got seven.
Helyar said as P&R president he would ensure the introduction of GST to stabilise the island's economy. Last year the States agreed to introduce tax reforms including a 5% GST, lower income tax rates for earnings under £30,000 and social security reform, to start in 2027.
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