What government runs Guernsey?
Guernsey is run by the States of Guernsey through its legislature, the States of Deliberation: 38 Guernsey Deputies plus two Alderney Representatives, presided over by the Bailiff. There is no single Channel Islands parliament; each island legislates separately.
The short answer
Guernsey's government is known as the States of Guernsey, and its law-making assembly is the States of Deliberation. According to the States of Guernsey's own meeting information, the assembly comprises a Presiding Officer, who is ex officio the Bailiff, the two Law Officers of the Crown, Guernsey People's Deputies, and two Representatives of the States of Alderney. The Law Officers have a voice in debates but no vote, and the Presiding Officer's role is to maintain order, moderate debate and regulate the conduct of business.
[1]The Channel Islands Parliament Tracker lists the current voting membership as 40 in total, made up of 38 Guernsey Deputies and 2 Alderney Representatives. The Bailiff of Guernsey is also the senior judge of the Bailiwick and its first citizen, while the States' Greffier serves as Clerk of the assembly. Beyond the assembly, His Majesty The King appoints a Lieutenant Governor as his personal representative in the Bailiwick.
[1][2]How the assembly works day to day
The States of Deliberation meet every three weeks, except in school holidays. Agenda items are published in a document called a Billet d'État, and after each sitting day the decisions are published as States' Resolutions. A near-verbatim official report, Hansard, is produced for each meeting day, usually within a month. Since 7 September 2022, the majority of votes have been taken using a Simultaneous Electronic Voting System, with records published online; exceptions include secret ballots, procedural motions where no division is requested, or when the system is unavailable, in which case a recorded vote is taken with each Member calling out their vote in turn.
[1]Members can also put written questions to committees under Rule 14 of the Rules of Procedure, and the relevant committee must answer within 15 clear days of receiving the question. The rules governing meetings and committees are set out in the Rules of Procedure and the Blue Book, which also lists Members and procedural rules.
[1]Is there a Channel Islands parliament?
A common point of confusion deserves a clear note: there is no single parliament covering the Channel Islands. The tracker lists three separate assemblies — the States Assembly in Jersey with 49 voting seats, the States of Deliberation in Guernsey with 40, and the States of Alderney with 10, two of whose members also represent Alderney in the Guernsey assembly. So Guernsey's government stands on its own; its link to the other islands is representational, not a shared legislature.
[2]A practical comparison
Consider a hypothetical: a Guernsey resident reads that a new road traffic amendment has been debated. To check it, they would look at the lodged items table — for example, an amendment to the Road Traffic (Construction and Use of Motor Vehicles) Ordinance, 2002 was lodged by the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure and the Committee for Home Affairs and scheduled for a specific meeting date. The distinction matters: an item being lodged and scheduled is a proposal awaiting debate, not yet an enacted measure. The tracker's own guidance reinforces this — match the island, legislature, document and sitting date, and distinguish a proposal, a debate, a vote and an enacted measure before drawing conclusions.
[1][2]Where to verify current details
- Check the States of Guernsey's States Meeting pages for agendas, Billets d'État, Resolutions and Hansard reports.
- Use the published voting records site for votes taken under the electronic system since September 2022.
- Consult the Blue Book for the membership, Presiding Officers and Rules of Procedure.
- Members of the public may watch proceedings from the public gallery whenever the States is in session.
One caution: named officeholders and lodged items change over time, so treat any specific name or proposition date as a snapshot and confirm it against the current official record before relying on it.
[1]Sources and dates
- https://www.gov.gg/statesmeetings · accessed 2026-10-18
- https://ciparliamenttracker.com/ · accessed 2026-10-18