Le Chemin Guernesiais

Speaking up for Guernsey, Jersey and the CI at an event for EU institutions in Brussels

I have a love-hate relationship with an oft used phrase. I heard it said a few times today, once from a fellow candidate, whom I met whilst we were both canvassing. I tend to wince visibly when it's used as I fear what may follow. 

It's the phrase "The Guernsey way".

I think one of the main problems is that it's often used in a negative context of "that's not the Guernsey way" when defensively assessing a potential solution or set of options. Sometimes it is used in the more proactive sense of "we must find a Guernsey way" in which case I tend not to wince!

Why do I, a full-blooded, Guernesiais speaking, Cobo born and bred proud native Sarnian find the phrase problematic? It is because we have often used it as an excuse for second-best, reactionary methodology that has been ill-thought through, or sometimes for outmoded ways which seem attractive simply because of a sentimental attachment, or even just as an excuse for lazy thinking, or a stubborn reason for defending a system or idea which is no longer fit for purpose or best practice. 

But there is a "Guernsey Way" that I believe is worth protecting and worth fighting for. So for, clarity I'm going to use the French form "Le Chemin Guernesiais" to distinguish it! What I am referring to is positive, proactive, and can give our profile the unique attraction which it deserves. This Chemin is not so much about reaction or defensiveness but rather promoting Guernsey in an intentional manner.

Let me explain what I mean. Too often we get either ignored in the international arena or we get pressure put upon us to conform to what larger nations and jurisdictions are doing. Often this is both costly and inappropriate for us, and comes as a result of a "one size fits all" attitude from those who do not understand how smaller countries like Guernsey operate. This has been a real and present danger in all the Brexit UK-EU negotiations we have been having over the last few years. We have a long and noble history of self-rule. 800 years of our own legislation - island government, by islanders, for islanders, which in turn sits on top of 300 years of Norman culture and heritage. This of course has been nuanced in unique ways by our connection to the English Crown on the one hand and our proximity to France on the other. Only our sister bailiwick of Jersey comes close to sharing these qualities. 

Guernsey has for centuries needed to do business beyond its shores to survive - the wine trade required relating to businesses in Bordeaux and further afield, a dependency on shipping and free trade, horticulture required access to the UK markets, quarrying to imported labour and skills from the UK and Ireland too, our fisheries currently has need of access to land 80% of its catch in Normandy, tourism by nature needs to reach out and have good relations and a positive reputation with those living elsewhere in order to flourish. That’s before we mention financial services. Whether we look backwards or forwards - most of our trade requires cross-border and international standards and agreements in order for our Guernsey based workers in these industries to maintain and grow their business. So today our ever-morphing finance industries, including asset management, fiduciaries, captive insurance, as well as intellectual property firms, fintech, cyber security, digital and media companies all do business on an increasingly global scale. So it is inevitable that we will need to have relationships and regular positive interface with other governments and international bodies in order to facilitate such business.

This is where the tricky issues can occur. In other larger countries often layers of bureaucracy have emerged to manage and regulate these commercial and official interactions. There may be expectations that we should have separate independent bodies and agencies to monitor and report on various activities involved. It could become inordinately expensive if we just ‘cut and paste’ the models from elsewhere as some do. Plus, it would not be efficient, because it is unlikely we would have the volume to justify running such institutions.

So we need to find “un chemin” through all this, fit for Guernsey. Often what we can do however, is that we can agree with the desired outcomes or objectives of the regulatory or legal issues which are at stake. In other words we can first agree the destination we all want to get to. Then we need to explain to those from larger jurisdictions - through patient negotiation - that there are alternative routes and alternate modes of transport which can still bring us to that destination. I can fly direct to Paris from Guernsey on certain days, or I could take the car on the ferry and drive, or I can choose to travel to London and from there fly to Paris, or I could take the train, or I could take the train and the ferry, or I could go via car and train or boat. Or I could possibly swim and walk! All of those methods get me to Paris, and whilst I may not want the cheapest option of walking and swimming, I do have multiple options which all achieve the same goal. The main difference will be timing and cost. But that’s what we often need to make clear in international negotiations: we can achieve the same objectives but it may take us a little longer and our vehicle(s) and ports of call may differ.

This always requires creativity and I have been privileged to work with some excellent officials in my team who can really help us think outside the box. One of the aspects of Le Chemin Guernesiais - the Guernsey Way - however that I believe needs to change currently (and I don’t think it used to be like this) is our risk appetite. I have written and spoken about this in the assembly and elsewhere and I will no doubt do so again, because it is something I feel strongly about - we have become too risk averse; we used to be more creative, more open to new ideas, more ‘can do’. Maybe it’s the current financial and revenue issues maybe it’s the general mood internationally, but I believe we need to resist this and regain some of Guernsey’s entrepreneur spirit of the past! This goes for everything from financial service regulation to development needs, small businesses and large. The Guernsey Way need not be seen as a stubborn defensive resistance to change - but rather a creative means of achieving an objective which others may not think of (or be able to include in their options); a way for for Guernsey to showcase that it can come up with smart new solutions, fit for purpose, overcoming problems which bigger jurisdictions that ours often struggle to solve.

So I want to redeem this phrase, and whether you choose to express it in English or French or Guernesiais, let’s let our uniqueness shine in the way we approach the challenges before us.

Contending for ‘le Chemin Guernesiais’ at the OECD Global Forum in Paris

We do requests…

In the run up to the 2016 general election I made an impromptu video (courtesy of Marc Winn!) on a rainy day passing by the Golden Lion pub in town where I rattled off a few tunes including Sarnia Chérie, Guernsey’s ‘National Anthem’. Even in the world of politics you need to have some fun and it was fun doing that! The video was a hit on YouTube and became a sort of musical manifesto and several of you have asked for a new version. So here it is, a little less impromptu, at our home this time with our daughter Grace Smith singing the whole song and then repeating the final refrain in Guernsey French. Enjoy!

The Guernsey. Breed. Brand. Briny… in a class of its own

Mess. Ray Watts dauve ieune de ses buones vacques guernesiaises [Mr Ray Watts with one of his lovely Guernsey cows]

There is no doubt in my mind that we own something very valuable in the name Guernsey. I want to examine a few examples. Take the Guernsey breed - cattle I mean, I know there are Golden Guernsey Goats too. What more could or perhaps should we be doing to maximise the rich and loyal reputation that the Guernsey cow holds?

My family have a long history in farming, yet my father (who turned to tomato and flower cultivation to make a living in the second half of his life) told me in my mid teens “I don’t mind what you do, but if you want my advice, don’t become a farmer or a grower!” So I didn’t. But his rather tongue-in-cheek advice came as a result of experiencing the inability to compete with the efficiencies of factory-style mass production in either agriculture or horticulture when compared to Big Brother EU and its subsidised member states. The service industries - predominantly financial services - became (and remain) our fiscal and economic saviour, but in a Covid and Brexit plagued brave new world are there new opportunities opening up for old industries re-imagined for a perhaps niche, higher value, tastier, fresher, greener, organic, purer market? I believe so. And I believe Guernsey is well placed to make the most of them if we have the courage to invest wisely.

Don’t misunderstand me, I am not envisioning a mass return to an agrarian culture, but rather a change in emphasis from a highly protectionist policy focused almost entirely on maintaining the Guernsey herd and milk production locally, subsidising farmland as countryside, and doing very little to encourage the next generation, towards a more creative, innovative outlook, majoring on the unique selling points of the Guernsey breed, looking to export markets for high end branded products, making the most of our existing agricultural land and countryside without losing our historic small-scale farming techniques, helping them become a positive reason to ‘Buy Guernsey’ and stimulating the visitor economy to come see how we do it. Having resolved that the old Dairy is no longer fit for purpose before we go and build an identical one which is just a tad brighter and shinier than the former, we should see first whether our commercial and operating models should be adapted for such future transformation. To do so will require a new STSB as well as a P&R who have the courage to invest in such things.

A visit to Meadow Court Farm. With Ray Watts (Centre) and Fenella Maddison

We have seen small examples of these types of innovation recently in the small-scale production of high quality natural yoghurts, greek yoghurt, ice-creams, speciality cheeses etc. To investigate further the potential we possess I recently visited two people who have also imagined that Guernsey could “do dairy differently'“ – Ray Watts of Meadow Court Farm and Fenella Maddison of Torteval Cheese. Sadly space and time do not allow for me to recount the wide-ranging and very encouraging discussions we had on how government, the dairy industry, local food producers, land owners and farmers in general - micro, small and medium scale - could all play a significant part in turning the Guernsey ‘brand’ in agriculture into an economic turn-around, something worthy of investment, career and life-style choice, enhancing other Guernsey ‘offers’. We identified some of the obstacles, pitfalls of the past we need to avoid. Conflicting regulation and over-regulation being paramount. For example Ray and his family at one time sought to establish a farm-based visitor centre where groups of tourists to see a traditional working farm, the Guernsey cattle being milked, taste products and enjoy cream teas in an on-site café but were prevented ironically by planning regulations limiting the conversion of old farm buildings, which still sadly sit unused! Speciality cheese producers like Fenella are limited by access to dairy products because of the counterproductive quota systems in force to ensure milk is not over-produced. Yet often milk still goes to waste. We looked at the ways in which land use, crop rotation, local organic fertilisers, healthy soil and biodiversity all are symbiotic and could be exemplary of the historic Guernsey brand. A small amount of butter is sold to Waitrose for the UK market, but this is only a token start. We talked of how through innovation a new generation could aspire to work the land again in more productive ways, Guernsey could be more self-sufficient even if never fully so, and healthier lifestyles which we saw a glimpse of during lockdown could possibly be embraced again more economically. I left hopeful.

Fenella Maddison of award winning Torteval Cheese

But it’s not just about the Guernsey breed, it’s our briny too - our fisheries industry is artisanal, very different to the large scale high volume factory industries of the big boys around us - small boats, traditional catching techniques, historic rich waters yielding high quality products, world class. We should be making more of this. And, ironically perhaps, Brexit may just enable us to do so, deal or no deal. Many of us don’t want us to lose our fishermen - the threat is that Brexit will cause them to lose tariff free access to the French markets where 80% of their catch goes. But who knows what we might be able to transform our 12 nm territorial seas into over the next few decades - a marine park? A blue energy showcase? A world centre for marine aquacultural sustainability?

The Norman brand which includes Camembert, Le Président butter, d’Isigny, cider, Calvados, but also Mont Saint Michel, the DDay Landing beaches, William the Conqueror etc. all demonstrate the benefits of making the most of ones USPs. Siginficantly when Président Hervé Morin launched ‘La Marque Normande’ a couple of years ago he invited us Anglo-Normans to join in! We still could, but that’s for another day.

Rather than either trying to copy the big players around us – who, to be honest are often producing the culturally bland, samey, homogenised products which come with mass production techniques – or simply trying sometimes half-heartedly to maintain the status quo (often at great expense too), why shouldn’t we seek to offer something a little different, which stands out from the crowd? Perhaps we’re sitting and walking right on top of it! We’ve been achieving unique status with financial services such as protected cell companies, blockchain dealing, green finance, and to a certain degree in the goods market already with clematis, cider, gin, and more recently butter and now speciality cheeses. These issues touch at the heart of our current ecological, social and economic challenges.

In the coming years I would like to see fresh ideas and a new generation take on these challenges, so I shall be seeking to develop and promote policies to further these proposals.

Fort Grey from www.tortevalcheese.co.uk

There's Much More To Guernsey

Viewing the panoply of colour at Guernsey Clematis Nursery with founder and owner Raymond Evison (Right) and Paul Ingrouille (Horticultural Manager)

There's much more to Guernsey than financial services. We ought to value our financial service industry which not only opens up Guernsey to global business, but provides resources for other services and businesses to exist here and to provide jobs. However we should endeavour not to be over-reliant on any one industry. This we ought to have learnt from the past when Guernsey was heavily dependant on horticulture for the bulk of the twentieth century.

When the UK joined the EU in the 1970s it became increasingly difficult for Guernsey to compete with subsidised fruit and flowers grown and marketed in bulk by the big EU member states benefiting from the Common Agricultural Policy and other schemes. Tomato growing died a death within a decade. Some flower growing remained but it has had to innovate and diversify to be sustainable. In the last decade the UK government's decision to remove VAT Low Value Consignment Relief (LVCR) has hit hard on flower growers in Guernsey. Small local growers were still managing to be competitive by sending small flower packages by Post which came under the LVCR de minimis level of £18 and was therefore not subject to VAT on importation into the UK. After this came the recession and thus a double whammy for flower growers trying to eke out a living.

The variety of colours, flower sizes, shapes and plants is staggering. 

It is therefore very heartening to see horticulture bouncing back. Especially in the form of such clever innovation and niche marketing which looks resilient enough to withstand the storms of doing business both near and far. A good example of this is Guernsey Clematis Nurseries Ltd. and its associated Raymond Evison Clematis. Under the entrepreneural skill of its founder Raymond Evison MBE VMH who began the Guernsey operation in 1985 the firm has developed a business model which involves dedicated breeding and global marketing on an incredibly large scale. Plants are grown from cuttings and prepared either for UK or European sales, or carefully pruned as young plants and exported as far afield as North America and Japan. 3 million plants are produced annually here. A quarter of the world market in clematis plants originates in Guernsey!  

Raymond's successful business model comes from the idea he had that as people in the West increasingly moved towards living in cities and smaller dweliings without gardens, they would want some kind of easy-to-maintain garden experience in what little space they might have - a patch of patio, a balcony, or even a window box. They needed things to grow that were fairly unfussy, colourful and hardy. Clematis plants fit the bill perfectly. They are so versatile too, plus with his innovative species cultivation programme the options continue to expand.

As the son of a grower I was fascinated by the way in which this "vinery" (as we call sentimentally call glasshouses over here in reference to their original use for growing grapes) operates. Much science, design, and technological skill goes into the the production process, The care taken over breeding plants so that colour, size, shape, number of blooms, etc. are all taken into consideration, coupled with the fact that it takes around 10 years to develop a marketable new variety from initial concept, means that serious investment and risk are involved in this industry. So its not surprising therefore that each year Raymond comes back from the Chelsea Flower Show - the world showcase for the horticultural flower industry - glistening with medals and awards. He is of course also Vice=President of the Royal Horticultural Society and was awarded the prestigious Victoria Medal of Honour for his services to horticulture. 

Along with several others, including my cousin Ivan Le Tissier, and as president of the Guernsey Botanical Trust Raymond has pioneered the Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden at Saumarez Park in the Castel parish. This is a beautiful painstaking project which is definitely worth a visit. 

So, there's much more going on in Guernsey, and Guernsey Clematis is a brilliant example of this. They are expanding too, building another expanse of glass to cope with the increase in demand as they partner with other distributers and garden centres in Denmark, the Netherlands and further afield. 

Our daughter Grace checking out the flowers!

Watershed States

I'd like one of them, please.

Second day on the 2016 Campaign Trail for me. Our youngest daughter Emily, back for her Easter break from her Vis-Com degree at Bournemouth University joined me in the wind and rain in the Grandes Rocques area to knock on a few dozen doors. Like yesterday - although the weather was almost the opposite - many folk were out, or perhaps away for the weekend. Nevertheless we left note cards to say we'd dropped by, with details of this website and how to contact me if they wanted to discuss an issue. Those that were in and wanted to talk did not tend to want to discuss "an issue" but rather "every issue" you could think of. So  I've made some plans to return to a few homes, as well as to follow up on this blog with some of the issues raised as well as via Twitter and Facebook so that others can join in if they want. 

Those we talked to fell largely into two categories: 

1. Totally ****ed off with everything. It would seem in a couple of cases it was certainly not just the government, but TV, radio, press, media in general, their neighbours, the weather, quality of teachers, "foreigners" (apparently there's only 18,000 of us "real Guerns" left - Cor la me!), parents who can't control their kids, banks, those who work in finance generally, bus-drivers, taxi-drivers, hoards of unemployed youths loitering about (apparently generally at Cobo where I live), the Middle East, Europe, France in particular, Jersey (mentioned at least twice). Reassuring that the moans were very widely spread, but of course the States "should always do something about it." For the few people who expressed this type of view to me today (and it was only about 6 or 7 out of around 30 I spoke to on the doors) it was clear that this current government would be classified as the "Worst States Ever". I didn't have to ask, in fact one person used the phrase several times as soon as she began speaking, "You've all been in for far too long" she opined, "We need to vote at least half of you out and have a new lot in!" When I tried pointing out to the lady that this is basically what happened in 2012, when nearly half the assembly were complete newcomers and a couple were returnees like me, having taken a break from politics, she would have none of it. Apparently we've all be at it for decades, and this certainly makes us the worst States ever - even the Press were saying so now, so there must be some truth in it. Apparently we have made all the wrong decisions on everything, and ignored things we should have been deciding on (I asked for an example, and although she could not think of one, someone from another room shouted "airport runway"). Unfortunately I had not read John Fernandez's interesting take today on this very issue, otherwise I might have pointed her towards reading more than the headlines and the letters pages, but you know, I sort of recognised I was unlikely to win this argument, so I bade her a happy Easter and trudged on to the next door. This lady was probably at the extreme end of the this category, and it was important to recognise her perceptions, but there were others who felt similarly even if they expressed themselves in a more reserved manner.

2. Grateful for the advances made in social policy this term. It was really heartening to speak to again around half a dozen people who each, unprompted, mentioned some issue in the area of equality, disability and inclusion, mental health, pre-school education, Guernsey Employment Trust, extra-care housing, etc., where they evidently were personally aware of the benefits that are coming about because we have taken (for Guernsey) huge strides in these areas during the last term. It was particularly encouraging to note several people recognise that we have managed to take these decisions despite huge financial constraints and a global recession which has caused other governments to back-pedal in social policy areas. One of them said to me "You've all had one of the most difficult terms in living history and I think you've done better than we could have imagined". Not quite "Best States Ever" but I'll settle for exceeding expectations! He also went on to say - as people often do, although I find it annoying - that he could never do my job, and he didn't envy the issues we've had to handle, and the tough decisions to make. These were not people living in unreality - they had frustrations (one family were struggling to rearrange transport for their son and fiancée due to ferry cancellations) but they realised that government has not and cannot have all the answers as it does not control all the variables - neither would we want it to!

The thing is I reckon both of the above groups would therefore agree on this: This has been a Watershed States - a term when some major changes and tough decisions have been made, when a paradigm shift in culture has been initiated, some are threatened by this and others embrace it as long overdue. I might be wrong on this, but this would make sense.

Of course I'm being economical with the truth here. There is a third category of people we spoke to today - it's those in the middle. They are just not sure about things, not confident about how to vote, what issues are important and in what priority, who to trust - quite a few of these told me they had never voted before. They can see the changes happening, and for some it looks okay, but for others it is all a leap in the dark. One said although it was the first time he'd put his name on the electoral roll he was still not at all confident that he would go and vote on the day. "It just seems like so much could rest on my X in the box" he told me. And he's absolutely right. People have fought and given their lives in the past, and still today in some parts of the world, to win the right - the power - to vote. 

Which is why we should all take it very seriously, think deeply, widely, question thoroughly, and engage with politics and politicians - not just at election times, but in between too.

Your vote is powerful - use it, and use it wisely.