Election 2008

Robert Sillars.

I have lived in the parish of St Martin for over 13 years. I married into a traditional Guernsey family and have two children at St Martins Primary School.

I have been in business all my working life covering marketing, sales and finance. I am Chairman and Managing Director of the Sigma Group, a local company employing 140 people in the Channel Islands.

Why am I standing? 

Our Island is facing considerable threats and pressure, both internally and from the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. I am not content to sit back and watch our quality of life denigrated - Our quality of life is worth fighting for – not only for my generation but for that of our children.

I believe that my business knowledge and skills will be a considerable asset to the States of Guernsey. I will help steer a steady course through the many difficult and often conflicting issues that the next States must address.

It is my belief that a key objective of government is to look after the general well being of the population – We need a "caring government that listens to the needs of the electorate".

However, in order to ensure that States funds are used to maximum benefit for us all, the States must ensure that Government spending is controlled with the same vigour as if it were a business. It must prioritise, budget wisely and ensure that targets are met. It must be more accountable and it must work as a team.

We need to target Education, Health and Housing as the key areas for Government support. We must not lose our Islands independence, but we must evolve. In order to increase revenue we need to remove barriers (where possible) to allow local companies to grow and flourish.