Politics of the Bailiwick of Guernsey take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Crown dependency.
The Crown Dependencies are three offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey, both located in the English Channel and together known as the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland.
Sir Philip Martin Bailhache KC is a Jersey politician and lawyer who has served as a Deputy for St Clement since 2022 and the leader of the Jersey Liberal Conservatives party.
The States of Guernsey, officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guernsey also apply to Alderney and Sark as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to Herm as well as Guernsey, since Herm is directly administered by the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
The Chief Minister of Guernsey chaired the Policy Council, which consists of the heads of each of the ten departments of the States of Guernsey. Guernsey operates a system of consensus, committees-based government. The Policy Council is explicitly not a cabinet and has relatively little executive authority compared to a cabinet; instead, its main function is policy co-ordination. The Chief Minister also spoke for the island externally in political matters.
Jonathan Paul Le Tocq is a politician in Guernsey.
Lyndon Trott is an elected Deputy in the States of Guernsey who served as the Chief Minister of Guernsey from 2008 to 2012 and has served as President of the Policy and Resources Committee of Guernsey since 2023.
The Council of Ministers is the collective decision-making body of the Government of Jersey, formed by the Ministers of the States of Jersey and the Chief Minister. The council co-ordinates policies and administration, especially policy affecting two or more ministers, prioritises executive and legislative proposals, and presents a "Strategic Plan for Jersey" for approval by the States Assembly.
The External relations of the Bailiwick of Jersey are conducted by the External Relations department of the Government of Jersey. Jersey is not an independent state; it is a British Crown dependency, so internationally the United Kingdom is responsible for protecting the island and for consulting Jersey on international trade agreements but it is not a British territory.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. As a bailiwick, Guernsey embraces not only all ten parishes on the island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Alderney and Sark – each with their own parliament – and the smaller islands of Herm, Jethou and Lihou. Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick is not part of the United Kingdom, but, as its description suggests, a possession of the Crown. Consequently, though it lies within the Common Travel Area, it was never part of the European Union.
Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples in Guernsey was passed by the States of Guernsey on 21 September 2016, and took effect on 2 May 2017. Same-sex marriage laws took effect in Alderney on 14 June 2018, and Sark on 23 April 2020.
Gavin Scooter St Pier is an elected deputy in the States of Guernsey and former president of the Policy and Resources Committee.
The Policy & Resources Committee is the Senior Committee of the system of government in Guernsey. It was created on 1 May 2016 to replace the Policy Council of Guernsey.
Laura Trott is a British politician who served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from November 2023 to July 2024, having previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions from 2022 to 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks since 2019 and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury since July 2024.
The 2020 Guernsey general election took place on 7 October 2020 to elect 38 members of the States of Guernsey. Originally scheduled to be held in June 2020, it was delayed a year to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being brought forward to its final date.
The President of the Policy and Resources Committee, also known as the Chief Minister of Guernsey, is the head of government of Guernsey and chair of the Policy and Resources Committee. The head of government is not directly elected by the people but rather by the legislature, the States of Guernsey.
Peter Terence Richard Ferbrache is an elected Deputy in the States of Guernsey and former president of the Policy and Resources Committee.
Heidi Soulsby MBE, is a politician from the island of Guernsey. She has been a deputy of the States of Guernsey since the 2012 Guernsey general election and was the First female Deputy Chief Minister of Guernsey.
Mary May Lowe is a politician in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. She served in the island's legislature for 26 years, becoming Guernsey's longest-serving politician, before leaving office after the 2020 general election.
