My Ears, Your Voice. It isn’t just the slogan I adopted in 2016 and continued in 2020, it’s core to how I believe a Deputy should serve. What I've heard across our island, in countless conversations and community meetings, is a deep desire for common sense, a passion for social justice, and an urgent need for good governance that truly listens. It’s these voices – your voices – that have fuelled my commitment to stand for Deputy again.
Manifesto
Dr Rob Harnish
A Voice for Inclusion, a Vision for Guernsey
Telephone: 07911 718339
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.harnish.gg
Facebook: @SpeculativeThought
Twitter [X]: @RobHarnish1
Y o u t u b e: @robertharnish9246
If you have any trouble reading this manifesto, please contact me and I will try to provide a version that is more appropriate for you.
Hello, I’m Dr Robert Harnish, though most of you know me as Dr Rob, or simply Rob. For years, my approach to politics has been guided by a simple principle: My Ears, Your Voice. It isn’t just the slogan I adopted in 2016 and continued in 2020, it’s core to how I believe a Deputy should serve.
“We all matter, Eh?”
What I’ve heard across our island, in countless conversations and community meetings, is a deep desire for common sense, a passion for social justice, and an urgent need for good governance that truly listens. It’s these voices that have fuelled my commitment to stand for Deputy again.
The truth is, when we fail to hear someone, we fail to include them. When we exclude even one person, our community is diminished. My experiences, particularly at the Ron Short Centre and the Guernsey Disability Alliance, have constantly reminded me that
Every Voice Counts!
A Vision for Guernsey shaped by Your Voices
What I hear from so many of you has nothing to do with leaning to the left or right, or else getting caught up in labels like ‘based’ or ‘WOKE’. What comes through loud and clear is a call for less political noise and more practical, common-sense solutions to the challenges we face together.
You’ve told me about the pressing need to manage our public purse responsibly, to ensure future healthcare, to find a better balance between promoting the local economy and protecting our precious environment, and to ensure our island’s interests are secure in a rapidly changing world.
Many of you share a frustration with short-term fixes, unfinished projects and last-minute crisis management. My commitment, strengthened by listening to your concerns, is to champion long-term solutions over quick wins that are likely to cost us dearly later on. It’s about putting public service before private gain and unwavering principles before privilege – values I believe reflect the heart of our community’s aspirations for Guernsey’s future.
Making Your Call for Common Sense and Honesty Really Count
What I hear repeatedly is that truth is the bedrock of a healthy government, and that facts must be its firm foundation. You’ve been telling me that you don’t trust our politicians and that our future depends on restoring the States’ credibility by ensuring unwavering integrity and full transparency. Many of you feel there have been too many instances where things just hasn’t worked that way.
So, it turns out that a “Freedom of Information Law” isn’t just my priority, but a reflection of what you’re asking for – a government in which honest politicians don’t need places to hide, where every decision is open and every action is transparent. There is no other way to build the kind of public confidence that we all agree is vital right now. It’s about ensuring our leaders have the honesty and courage needed to “say it like it is”, because that’s what you expect and deserve.
Political posturing and bureaucratic red tape are enemies of good governance. Making good decisions is not about pursuing personal agendas but about taking public interest seriously. Political debate is not supposed to be a battleground, but a meeting of minds. Participants have a common goal: to ensure that our government takes everyone and everything into account when making decisions and taking actions that affect us all.
Guernsey needs leaders who prioritise practical solutions over pet projects, sound reasons over self-serving rationalisations. We need decisions grounded in fact, logic and integrity, decisions that genuinely serve the public interest. It’s time to put reason back at the heart of government: to restore a focus on openness, fairness, transparency and accountability.
My Commitment: To Hear and Act for You
The message I consistently hear is the importance of practical solutions grounded in fact and integrity, solutions that genuinely serve our entire community. To quote Martin Luther King, Jr once again,
“Rarely do we find people who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”
Because I am fully committed to truly representing you, I commit to the solid thinking and hard work needed to turn your concerns and hopes into effective action.
Strengthening our Community Fabric – because You’ve Told Me it Matters Most
You’ve shared how vital community is to life in Guernsey. And many of you see, as I do, that while our government intends to work more closely with charities and businesses, our approach to commissioning services needs to better reflect best practices; otherwise, we will just keep wasting precious resources. Based on what I’ve heard, here are a few of my aims:
The Things You’ve Asked For
First, of course, I intend to support every effort to build our local community. To that end, I will:
- Champion Accessibility and Inclusion: Your stories and experiences, especially from my work in disability advocacy, highlight the growing needs of our community, particularly as our population ages. I will be your voice for a fairer, more inclusive island.
- Push Ahead with a Robust Commissioning Strategy that Works for Us: You’ve pointed out that the third sector can often deliver services more efficiently and with greater compassion than the States. I will champion a strategy that empowers them effectively.
- Listen to and Support Local Initiatives: I will actively seek out and support those fantastic community-led projects that you tell me foster unity and mutual support.
- Encourage and Recognise Volunteering: Many of you are already involved in volunteering and know its value. I will advocate for more government support for our volunteers and the charities that train them, making it easier for everyone to contribute.
Making the System work for Everyone
You’ve made it clear that we need to get those basics right. But it isn’t enough to strengthen the community without improving the government.
As the Managing Director of the Ron Short Centre, I have already been engaging with ESC regarding education for all, ESS regarding access to employment, HSC regarding improving public health, E&I regarding improving public transport, and P&R regarding public property (including our purse!). There are some great people in the system – and maybe a few blockers. If I have learned anything from my time at the Disability Alliance, it is about how to make cost-effective reasonable adjustments in order to overcome barriers to success. My policy priorities are:
- Advocating for Fair Taxes;
- Improving Public Transport;
- Promoting Public Health initiatives;
- Addressing the barriers to Education; and
- Ensuring equal access to Employment for all.
I am sure you would like to hear more about my experience in these areas, and my goals. To find out more, please visit my website, and follow me on social media. Or better, come and talk to me!
The Bottom Line
If life has taught me anything, it is the importance of listening, understanding, and acting with compassion. I truly believe in a Guernsey where every voice is heard and every individual has the opportunity to thrive. Together, we can build a more resilient, inclusive, and vibrant community.
Let’s Keep Talking – Your Voice shapes Our Future
“My Ears, Your Voice” isn’t just for election time. It expresses my ongoing commitment to everyone. I genuinely value your perspectives and believe the best way forward for Guernsey is through continuous conversation. Please, reach out, share your ideas, your concerns, your hopes.
I make only one promise. It is the same promise I made when I first became involved in politics. Whether elected or not, I will continue to serve this Island – my community, my home – with courage and integrity.
Thank you for considering me as your representative. Let’s all keep working together for a better Guernsey.
Dr Rob Harnish
MY EARS, YOUR VOICE