On a regular basis, the 10 governors of the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territories get together in London to discuss various matters and, on this occasion, four of them paid a brief visit to Guernsey and Jersey and were hosted by the islands’ Lieutenant-Governors.
These islands are not, of course, overseas territories but Crown Dependencies and while the distinction might be as arcane as it is significant, it means that the role of a governor is radically different to that of a Lt-Governor in these waters.
Supreme authority is vested in the Queen over the overseas territories and exercised by a governor on her behalf with, in the case of the Falklands for example, the advice and help of the executive council and Legislative Assembly.
In other words, a Governor is part of government and responsible for its good governance. And as the difficulties in the Turks and Caicos Islands, where systemic corruption is leading to the UK imposing direct rule indicates, it is a significant responsibility.
It is also one reason why some of the governors were interested in discussing how to encourage society and the media to be more vigilant in the scrutiny of government actions.
Journalists, more used to politicians and officials preferring less interest in their activities, were perplexed. Why? ‘Because it makes our lives easier,’ was the swift response.
If a Governor is ultimately responsible for the good governance of a jurisdiction, a robust and questioning media is positively beneficial because it encourages questions about individual probity, value for money and decisions being taken for the right reason and not for gain.
In that way, an independent third party asking the right questions is an essential element of the democratic process and is also one reason why Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme You and Yours yesterday looked at the state of the newspaper industry in the UK and asked, aware of the consequences, is local news under threat?
It’s never comfortable being criticised, especially if that criticism seems unfair or too harsh.
But it is an essential ingredient for any government claiming to be open and accountable.