Marc Leadbeater

Manifesto

Proven Leadership. Real Results. A Relentless Voice for Positive Change.

Over this term, I’ve served as Vice-President of the Committee for Health & Social Care (HSC), and I’ve sat on HSC throughout. Upon my election as Vice-President, the Committee President, Deputy Al Brouard, said:

“Deputy Leadbeater has proven himself to be an excellent Committee member during the last three years,” 

“He is knowledgeable about our very wide mandate, a team player and does not shy away from taking the difficult but right decision – a very important trait for our Committee given the challenges we face. I’m delighted that Marc is stepping up to the role of Vice-President.”

I embraced the added responsibility, deepening my involvement and understanding across the full spectrum of HSC’s work.

This term we built and opened de Havilland Ward at the PEH - a new nine-bed orthopaedic unit helping to reduce waiting lists. But until we have the new Operating Theatre capacity, which will be delivered with Phase 2 of the Hospital Modernisation Programme, waiting times will remain higher than we would like.

I am especially proud of leading the creation and launch of the Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy (MHWS), running until 2029. I chair the Strategy’s Technical Team, bringing together expertise from across government and the third sector, as well as those with lived experience. We’ve recently published our first annual report, and progress across all four strategic pillars is tangible.

We need to re-start the stalled review of Primary Care which initially commenced in 2020. Unfortunately, the Policy & Resources Committee back then withdrew the resources that were previously allocated to this work-stream. With the rising cost of GP visits and many people not being able to afford basic healthcare we must act now. We need to re-allocate resources to this work in order to address this issue ASAP, as the soaring costs are preventing equitable access to Primary Care for many without Health Insurance. This has to be addressed as a top priority.

The transformation of Health & Social Care - both in infrastructure and in how services are delivered - is a complex, multi-term project. I’m standing again to ensure continuity, especially in delivering the MHWS and the broader reform work already underway.

Housing: From Stagnation to Solutions

Guernsey is not building enough homes—especially affordable ones. This crisis isn’t new. In 2016, I highlighted in my first manifesto that we weren’t meeting targets, and that affordable and specialist accommodation for older people was critically lacking.

By 2020, the housing crisis had worsened. I wrote then:

“Policy GP11 in the Island Development Plan was supposed to boost social housing—it’s failed miserably. Not a single unit has been delivered under this policy.”

That failure, coupled with the Population Management Law and the Island Development Plan that were introduced in 2016 and 2017 respectively, created a perfect storm in the local housing market: developers shunned larger projects, supply shrank, and locals now compete directly with incoming workers for the same scarce housing.

Despite my efforts to remove it during the 2016 – 2020 term, it wasn’t until last year, thanks to a Requête I co-signed, that GP11 was finally scrapped. Developers are now, thankfully, returning to stalled sites which were previously unviable under GP11. It’s a start, but it will take time for these units to come forward and be built.

Just as significant for housing delivery was another successful Requête I was behind, which has reinstated a dedicated Housing Committee - a vital move to bring back focus and accountability. We’ve wasted years on strategies that achieved little. Now is the time to act, and instead of just paying lip service, actually build some houses.

Taxation: Close Loopholes, Not Raise Burdens

This term saw three major tax debates. I consistently opposed a Goods & Services Tax (GST). Why? Because we shouldn’t ask less well-off people to pay more while loopholes allow the wealthiest to avoid paying a fair contribution.

Instead, we must act on:

• OECD Pillar 2: A global 15% minimum tax on large corporations. Treasury estimates suggest up to £40m annually could be raised here.
• Personal Investment Companies: A loophole that allows wealthy residents to defer tax indefinitely. Jersey closed this gap years ago. We should seriously consider introducing a Territorial Corporation Tax which will not negatively affect the large employers in the Finance Industry, as those businesses’ profits aren’t derived from within Guernsey, and this can raise a significant amount annually and help address the structural deficit created by Zero-10; pretty much every business owner I’ve talked to about this would much prefer a fair tax on their profits over the burden of having to administer a GST and the associated costs involved. I’m not saying a GST should be off the table forever – it would be foolish to do so - but any further tax burden on our population must be the last resort, not the first reflex. 

Justice Policy: Reform Delayed, Not Denied

Despite recommendations from the last Justice Review, progress has stalled. The one piece of work advanced - Non-Punitive Approaches to minor drug offences - was ultimately dismissed by the Committee for Home Affairs as not required. Yet vulnerable young people continue to be criminalised for low-level possession, a policy that stigmatises and sidelines them from employment and opportunity. As also highlighted in the Justice Review, our DBS system needs reform. Convictions in Guernsey linger far longer than in the UK, where many are considered “spent” after a short time. Here, they can remain for life - creating lifelong barriers for locals trying to gain employment that non-locals with similar convictions from outside of Guernsey don’t face. That’s not justice. We need to help those trying to turn their lives around.

Drug Policy: Listen to the Data, Not the Stigma

Between 2001 and 2022, diverted prescription opioids contributed to at least a quarter of all drug-related deaths in Guernsey. Not one was caused by cannabis as there’s no such thing as a fatal overdose of cannabis. Diverted prescription medication makes up for the majority of the drug problems that Guernsey faces, which as highlighted in the Justice Review, sets us aside from neighbouring jurisdictions. Most addiction cases treated by the Community Drug & Alcohol Team relate to alcohol and prescription opioids. That’s where our focus must be. At HSC, we’re already working with the Chief Pharmacist to address overprescription and help reduce the volume of diverted medication in circulation.

We must also take a clear-eyed look at cannabis reform, although I think that currently there are higher priorities for government, it’s an issue that needs addressing none the less. A States-backed motion directs the next HSC to scope changes to its legal status. Medicinal access is already legal, but the system has flaws. A regulated market, as seen in Canada for example, can yield both public health and social benefits, including, importantly, reduced use among young people. We owe it to the next generation to adopt policies shaped by evidence, not outdated ideology, and give them the education and tools they need to make good, informed choices and stay free from drugs and addiction.

A Final Word

I have consistently stood up for what I believe in, sometimes alone, often as part of a team of reformers. I don’t shy away from difficult issues. Whether it’s health transformation, housing reform, fairer taxation, or social policy, I bring determination, clarity, and an unshakable sense of duty to every debate.

I ask for your support to continue the work we’ve started - and to finish the work still ahead.

Marc Leadbeater