Sark faces dual test of government

Saturday 13th December 2008, 9:49AM GMT.

SARK is split between those who are shedding tears of joy at an election victory and those left weeping for lost jobs and lost opportunities.

While bloggers rejoiced on thisisguernsey at a victory for democracy and a rebuff to Brecqhou, one Sark worker, who signed himself simply as Unemployed, worried that young families were left ‘without jobs, prospects, and, in some cases, the prospect of homelessness – just in time for Christmas’.

In Guernsey terms, the job losses of roughly one in six of the population would be unimaginable: the equivalent of 10,000 people.

It is a desperate situation and, to its credit, Jersey was quick to offer to stand by Sark in its moment of need.

But what must the newly-fledged democracy do for itself?

Before they have even taken office, the 28 new conseillers have to rally a divided community and show the way ahead through the gloom.

It is essential that islanders do not let deep grievances which have been worsened by the election and the pull-out make that process even more difficult. If ever there was a time to stand together, this is it.

The first issue will be what happens to the businesses owned by Brecqhou. If the hotels, shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants are to be left boarded up and vacant it could take years for the community to recover.

And, even if the properties and business are put up for sale, it could not be a worse time for finding new investors, given the deep recession.

Sark’s new government will need all of its focus on boosting the economy. Getting embroiled in further constitutional arguments will be an unwelcome distraction.

But while the Brecqhou brothers may have stopped investing there is no sign that they have dropped their interest in reforming the roles of the Seigneur and Seneschal.

And although the skills of Brecqhou’s PR advisers have been found wanting, their legal team are skilled operators.

Chief Pleas must ready itself to meet two mighty challenges at the same time.

View more: Constitution news, Recession news.

1
Tony Webber

December 13, 2008 at 3:53 pm

Your comments on Sark are always thought provoking and this one is no different.
Towards the end you referred to the skills of the Brecqhou brother’s PR advisers having” been found wanting ” and to the ” skills of their legal team.” You did not say who their PR advisers are but my question is: have they taken PR advice from their legal advisers ?
I have written letters to the Guernsey Press on the subject of reform in Sark and indeed received a congratulatory letter on behalf of one of the Barclay brothers, which I very much appreciated, in respect of one piece of correspondence.
I believe that much of what the Barclay brothers have tried to achieve in reforming and updating Sark has been very worthwhile. The aftermath of the Sark elections is indeed very sad.
In respect of the future, many would support the Barclay brothers’ further taking up the issues of constitutional reform in respect of the positions of Seigneur and Seneschal, and I believe the new Sark government would be wrong to oppose this.
However, on the subject of PR, who advised the Barclay brothers to be represented in the old Sark Chief Pleas by their Advocate/s ? Was it the Advocates themselves, who so happen to have the same senior partner , Advocate Peter Harwood, who has been under fire recently, particularly PR wise in respect of the Landsbanki situation. It has hardly helped the Barclay’s cause to use an Advocate to represent them in Chief Pleas and has been one of a number of what I see as PR errors. Whilst the Barclay’s Advocates appear to have done a good job on the constitutional issues for them in the UK and perhaps other more legal issues, I don’t think it did the Barclay brothers any favours for their Advocate/s to be speaking on their behalf on other issues where it would have gone down better if they had been able to do it themselves or they had used a clearly identifiable PR spokesperson.
Whatever PR and other general advice they were given, particularly in respect of the Sark election, needed to be greatly improved upon.
From the time I was at school at Elizabeth College I have had friends and acquaintances from Sark and I have met some of the ” political ” personalities. I can see the viewpoints of both ” sides .” It is natural to not want any individuals to have too much power and influence and it is also important to bring about full democratic change and transparency.
In my opinion, Sark can have change and prosperity yet still retain much of its heritage and traditions. We still have our Queen and associated traditions, but the power of the monarch has diminished and been distributed in a democratic way. Sark can move further forward, but is it time for Guernsey to step in ? Perhaps there should be serious consideration to Sark being like Alderney ? Can we, in this Bailiwick of ours, tolerate a few hundred of our inhabitants not being covered by basic health , unemployment and social security benefits. Do we want such citizens to effectively have second class rights in many many areas compared to what the rest of us in Guernsey, Herm and Alderney accept as a right ?
Should Sark continue to be a potential drain on the legal and other resources of our Crown officers ?
Tony Webber, former Bailiwick Conseiller

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