29-04-2025
Follow the issues that matter through the Guernsey Votes election podcast
Want the inside track on the issues that will shape Guernsey's Election this June? Listen to Guernsey Votes, an ITV Channel podcast packed with expert guests, local insight and analysis you can trust...
When I first arrived in Guernsey just shy of ten months ago, I was instantly struck by the unique little quirks this island has. Think filter in turns, hedge veg, blue postboxes and of course, the ever familiar pleasantry - 'cheerie!'
It's fair to say I quickly realised politics was certainly amongst that list of quirks, albeit in a slightly less charming way, and for a political animal like myself, I couldn't wait to work out why!
It's partly to do with the political system itself (which I'll come onto!), but also the unique challenges and issues on this small yet beautiful rock in the middle of the English Channel.
Questions that dominate discussion tend to revolve around reducing the huge price of getting on and off our islands, building more housing and lowering costs, improving accessibility for people who may have a disability, filling the huge skills gap in a lot of our key industries and how the island finds the money to fund itself.
These help guide the mantras of politicians throughout political terms but with a range of candidates standing in the upcoming election, there's a risk of an information overload for the general public.
Key election dates:
Guernsey's political process has undergone a lot of change over the years, especially around how elections work. The introduction of an 'island-wide' system at the last election has led to outsiders describing it as the 'strangest' election in the world.
That might be to do with the fact that each voter has up to 38 votes to cast. Yes, 38! As a journalist covering the UK General Election last year, when many found it hard to place their confidence in just one candidate, the prospect of marking your ballot that many times is unfathomable and for many can be laborious and extremely difficult.
In their bid to win votes, each candidate puts together two pages worth of a manifesto, which is assembled together in a booklet distributed to each household ahead of the poll. At the last election in 2020, the booklet was 222 pages long!
The 38 candidates with the most votes are elected to the States and as the margin between all candidates is likely to be comparatively narrow, you can understand why there were recounts last time around. It's then a waiting game for the public as the elected politicians decide amongst themselves who will take the top jobs.
Martin Search has been a businessman in Guernsey for more than 50 years and wants Amazon to be charged for what it delivers to the island. Listen to the full interview on the first episode of Guernsey Votes, an election podcast by ITV News, as we discuss tax and the economy
It became clear going into this election cycle, there was a need for a deep, analytical dive into the crucial political issues that affect the island now and going forward. We hope our podcast, 'Guernsey Votes', gets to the crux of these issues and helps voters to stay informed alongside lighter moments.
We will be speaking to islanders, none of whom are candidates, about why these issues affect them and what they want to see out of their politicians in the next political term.
We've got experts in their field such as business people, those who have worked in the education system, younger voters and even a former deputy.
But given the short time I've been on the island, coupled with my limited background knowledge, I hope to go on the journey with you, learning more about the issues that matter.
You can listen to episodes as they are published at the top of this article or wherever you get your podcasts - there is a link to many of those popular platforms here.
