Blog Post – Marcus Vaudin

Date: Monday, 1 September 2025
Title: Birds, Legal Aid, a Vaccine—and Guernsey Politics Still on Cruel Autopilot

Morning, Guernsey.

It’s September 1st, and our local papers offer the usual mix: a hornet nest here, school lunch reforms there, a viral outbreak of inaction everywhere. Let’s break it down.

1. Legal Aid on the Brink

The Guernsey Press warns our taxpayer-funded legal aid scheme is nearing collapse. A lifeline for the needy is bleeding out—and nobody seems in a hurry to act.
Guernsey Press

Radical idea: How about we stop cutting essential services first? And maybe institute a citizens’ legal defence fund, administered publicly, with real-time transparency, overseen by delegates—with strict budget limits, not under political secrecy.

2. Chickenpox Vaccine Coming (From 2026)

A glimmer of progress: the chickenpox vaccine may arrive in 2026, pending funding approval.
Guernsey Press

But ask yourself: Why are we waiting another year for a basic public health measure? Instead of incremental bureaucracy, why not launch a public health referendum? Let the community decide: fund now—and shift another unnecessary priority.

3. Drunk Driving Headlines

Someone drove around Town while over the limit—and managed to get a headline for “once again”.
Guernsey Press

Not impressed. If this is recurring, it’s not misfortune—it’s negligence. I’ll say it plainly: overhaul enforcement. Public dashboards showing real-time penalty data, harsher repeat-offender protocols, and community-sponsored monitoring.

4. Healthier School Lunch Boxes

Fruit is making its way into lunchboxes—finally. A small victory for nutrition advocates.
Guernsey Press

But let’s be honest: this is tokenism. We need systemic change—free fruit and veg for every school child, island-wide, funded openly and delivered sustainably. Not in empty celebrations—real investment.

5. Hornet Nests and Complacency

Another hornet nest found—and removed—at Elizabeth College, with others monitored across the island.
Bailiwick Express News Jersey

Let me spell it out: reactive measures do not equal resilience. We need a public ecological watch, mandated by referendum—empowered, community-led, with drone mapping and rapid intervention. Because we are not just removing nests: we are ignoring the root causes.

Bottom Line: We’re Still on Autopilot

Every day brings well-meaning headlines—but without systemic urgency. Our island limps forward with token reforms, while structural rot deepens.

Here’s what Guernsey actually needs:

• ✅ A fully funded citizen-run legal aid system

• ✅ Real-time public health funding referenda

• ✅ Open dashboards for law enforcement and penalties

• ✅ Universal healthy school meal provisioning

• ✅ A community ecological defense unit tracking issues before they go public

We are not a nation of passive recipients. We are stewards. If we don’t demand these shifts—the public, the institutions, the press—then inertia wins.

No more platitudes. No more digital inertia. Let’s govern like we believe in being sovereign—not subservient.

— Marcus Vaudin
Deputy, States of Deliberation
#RadicalGuernsey