Committee chases headlines says resigning deputy

Deputy Haley Camp has submitted her resignation from the Committee for Economic Development due to what she called "autocratic rather than collaborative" leadership.

She was nominated, uncontested, to join the Committee in 2025 by its President Sasha Kazantseva-Miller and was elected having received 36 votes.

In a statement, Camp described the committee as "more concerned with appearing to deliver economic growth than with undertaking the difficult work required to achieve it".

Kazantseva-Miller thanked Camp for her contributions and said: "I believe the public rightly expects us to focus our time and energy on serving the island... rather than on personality politics."

Camp said she felt she was unable to make "the contribution the people of Guernsey elected me to make" while on the committee.

"The difficulty has been an environment in which acquiescence appears to be valued more highly than challenge... where leadership has remained, in my view, autocratic rather than collaborative," she said.

The deputy said during her time in the States this experience was "unique" to her time on Economic Development.

"I have found committees where robust debate is welcomed, differing views are respected and challenge is recognised as an essential part of good governance," she said.

"That is why I know the difficulties I have experienced are not an inevitable feature of consensus government."

Kazantseva-Miller said: "Committee discussions are necessarily robust and members do not always share the same view of how the Committee's work is best progressed.

"That is a normal feature of consensus government and I do not intend to engage in a public debate about personalities or respond to individual assertions."

Camp said she felt the committee was too focused on headlines rather than outcomes.

"Too often I see announcements, launches and carefully choreographed photo opportunities where I had hoped to see rigorous analysis, measurable outcomes and a coherent long-term strategy," she said.

"I did not join Economic Development to curate headlines. I joined to help build a stronger economy."

Kazantseva-Miller said: "The committee has a clear work programme under way to strengthen Guernsey's economy... Economic Development is about delivering tangible outcomes for the community.

"My priority remains exactly the same as it was on the day I was elected president: Working with my committee colleagues, our officers and our stakeholders to build a stronger, more resilient and more prosperous economy for the people of Guernsey."

Camp's resignation will need to be approved by the States. It comes after her unsuccessful attempt to join Policy and Resources in May, following the resignation of Deputy Gavin St Pier.

She said she would seek an appointment to another principal committee when a vacancy opens up, but in the meantime would focus on her other positions on the Scrutiny Management Committee and the Education Devolution & Delegation Investigation & Advisory Committee.

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