Mary May Lowe is a politician in the

Bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey (french: Bailliage de Guernesey; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is an island country off the coast of France as one of the three Crown Dependencies. Separated from the Duchy of Normandy by and under the t ...

. She served in the island's legislature for 26 years, becoming Guernsey's longest-serving politician, before leaving office after the 2020 general election.

Political career

Lowe was first elected as a representative of the parish of

Vale A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipali ...

in the

States of Guernsey The States of Guernsey (french: États de Guernesey), 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 Guern ...

, the bailiwick's legislature, in 1994. She was consistently reelected over the next two decades. Beginning in 2004 she served as social security minister on the

's Policy Council. She lost the ministerial position in 2007 to Diane Lewis, with Lowe attributing her election loss to the Fallgate scandal. After a long career in the legislature, Lowe became the first person to hold the title of "Mother of the House." In this role, she served as acting presiding officer when the parliament's bailiff or deputy bailiff were unavailable. She also led the States of Guernsey's Committee for Home Affairs, which is responsible for managing the bailiwick's emergency services, judicial system, and prison, from 2013 to 2020. In 2017, Lowe faced complaints that she had made discriminatory comments about a fellow politician, Marc Leadbeater, suggesting that he would be unfit to serve in the legislature because he has a close relative with disabilities. She denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the complaints as "totally unwarranted." Then, in 2019, Lowe faced pressure to step down from her position in the legislature amid allegations that she bullied staff. After a government report accused Lowe of "harassing or bullying" staff on the Committee for Home Affairs, Lowe argued there was a "woeful lack of evidence" and declined to leave office, although two other committee members stepped down in anticipation of the report's release. The

2020 Guernsey general election 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 ...

, which was delayed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, marked a major restructure of Guernsey's electoral system, with political parties introduced to the first time and candidates running in an all-island vote rather than separate parishes. Lowe ran as an independent. She lost her spot in the legislature, with 20.4% support in the plurality-at-large vote. On leaving office, Lowe was the island's longest-serving politician.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Mary Members of the States of Guernsey Guernsey women in politics Government ministers of Guernsey Women government ministers of Guernsey 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Living people