‘Can the UK Government be trusted?’
Monday 4th August 2008, 2:29PM BST.
GUERNSEY needs to ask whether it can trust the UK to consult it over international agreements, according to advocate and former States member John Langlois. The States will debate an international framework agreement in October after pressure from deputies stopped Chief Minister Lyndon Trott signing it.
Deputy Trott had argued that it did not need to be debated as it does not change the island’s constitutional position. But others have disagreed.
Advocate Langlois (pictured) was a member of the former Advisory and Finance Committee for 20 years. It had the power to sign external agreements on behalf of the States without agreement. These powers have been transferred to the Policy Council.
‘Although we, as A&F, had the legal power to commit the island in relation to external affairs, that did not mean that we always used it without reference to the House.
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Thank God for the Langlois and the Perrots of this world. People who implicitly understand the constitutional process rather than some whipper-snapper in awe of glad handing with Jack Straw. Thankyou Adv. Langlois and well done Matt Fallaize for putting the letter together.
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Ah yeah right, trust the UK Government……I don’t think so. Just look at the mess Labour have made of the UK since coming to power.
Guernsey should become independent from the UK.
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Can ANY Government REALLY be trusted?
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The Channel Islands can never ever trust Labour. It is a well known fact that when New Labour came into office they walked all over the Islands with their new jackboots since their time in office the Islands have had many appeasers in the respective States.
The public should be made aware before any decision is taken by the States and it should be noted New Labour are at there very weakest so wait for the friends of the Channel Islands the Conservative party to do any deal.
Remember the Conservative Party protected the Islands and would have no truck with Europe to put any pressure on these Islands.
The minute that excuse of a Chancellor got into power the first thing he did in the very long list of incompetence was to bring us to the weak position we are in today.
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The short answer to your question is “No”. I am a lifelong UK resident and have never known such an appalling Goverment.
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Dominic, New Labour are no friends of mine. They have ruined the UK with harsh right wing fiscal economics. Relying on Finance to run the economy, the chickens are home and roosting. The pandering of the UK government to the rich is nothing less than nauseating.
Your assertions that Tories would ‘protect’ the offshore tax haven industry is only true because they want to keep their stashes safe.
That is no way to run anything.
As soon as New Labour get kicked out, it will be no surprise to see the ‘business leaders’ so adored by the NL mantra, and so enmeshed in decision making, get assimilated into Cameron’s coterie.
I want to know why Jersey and the IoM so readily signed up and why we’re having so much difficulty in grasping the prospect that we’re insignificant without outside intervention. Our entire livelihoods (So Giba would tell us) is run by non local corporations that would up and leave at the drop of a a tax raise.
Your loyalty to avarice is self serving. As is the manner of all politics now. Slaves to cash, along with the fundamental immorality that that entails.
As far as I can see it, NL have done very well in protecting the playgrounds for the rich, surely any analysis indicates this, so why would they make a decision to ‘sell’ Guernsey down the river, it being a favourite place for wealth hoarders?
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‘Can the UK government be trusted?’ is the question posed in an article today. In the light of the sewage catastrophe, an inevitable outcome of years of failure by the States to face up to the issue, perhaps the question might be posed of institutions closer to home?
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the comment made by lawrence is absolutly right,labour are friends of the city financial institutions,many are the same institutions in guernsey.the super rich are treated better under new labour than under margaret thatcher,the torys economic policys will be much the same if they come to power.so it is very unlikely guernsey will be sold out,i think some local politicians want more power than they deserve.
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Paul you seem to be unaware of the problems Labour has caused for the Islands.The Channel Islands can never ever trust Labour. It is a well known fact that when New Labour came into office they walked all over the Islands with their new jackboots since their time in office the Islands have had many appeasers in the respective States.
The public should be made aware before any decision is taken by the States and it should be noted New Labour are at there very weakest so wait for the friends of the Channel Islands the Conservative party to do any deal.
Remember the Conservative Party protected the Islands and would have no truck with Europe to put any pressure on these Islands.
The minute that excuse of a Chancellor got into power the first thing he did in the very long list of incompetence was to bring us to the weak position we are in today.
Please read and digest fact not fiction.
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In a word. No.
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You can not trust the UK government because they view the Channel Islands as a nuisance, a place that deprives them of tax revenues.
But can you trust the Guernsey Chief Minister?
It seems to me that a democratic process and debate over this matter is the obvious thing to do.
This reflects the attitudes of politicians over the last few years world wide (eg: Blair/Bush/Unilateral Invasions, blah, blah, blah), in that they seem to forget that they are meant to be representing the views of the people.
To me CM Trott’s attitude is likened to that of Bush, in that he feels his opinion should over-ride others.
I lost my faith in politics long ago. This is just a re-run that I won’t wait to see the end of. In fact I have already changed the channel.
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