For the Island to flourish, the private and public sectors must work well together
First published in the Jersey Evening Post 2025-10-17
Public and Private: In Praise of Interdependence
We all know the stereotypes. One wears a lanyard and clocks off at 4:59. The other wears a tailored suit and makes money while others sleep. One is a public servant, the other works in finance.
Neither caricature is fair. Both are unhelpful. And in Jersey, these portrayals have crept increasingly into our political discourse and online commentary. Civil service headcount is up. Spending is high. Pensions look generous. Services feel sluggish. It’s no wonder some Islanders question the value of the public sector – especially when compared to a private sector that generates visible profit.
As someone who worked in public service for 40 years – in both the UK and Jersey – I’ve heard the criticisms. Some are valid. Others are more about perception than reality. But the most important truth, too often missed, is this: the public and private sectors are not adversaries. They are partners. They depend on each other more than we like to admit.
Civil Servants, Public Servants – and the Real Divide
People often distinguish between ‘civil servants’ working in government departments and ‘public servants’ on the frontline – teachers, nurses, emergency responders. It’s a distinction that matters, but only up to a point. The deeper difference is not where someone works, but whether they remember who they serve.
The best public servants, regardless of job title, stay outward-facing. Whether writing policy or driving an ambulance, their purpose is the same: to make Jersey safer, fairer, more responsive, and more sustainable. That’s what real public service looks like.
The Value We Don’t See
Much of the value created by public service is invisible. We notice when things go wrong – bins missed, call centres delayed, hospital waits. But we rarely acknowledge the routines that quietly work: water that’s clean, streets that are safe, emergencies that are managed.
Take Jersey’s COVID-19 response. The Fort Regent vaccination centre, mass testing, PPE distribution, the Nightingale Hospital at Millbrook – these weren’t miracles. They were the result of public servants adapting quickly, beyond their job descriptions, in a time of national uncertainty. Nobody asked about pension arrangements. What mattered was competence, urgency, and delivery.
The same is true in quieter times. Environmental officers who prevent health risks. Social workers who avert family breakdown. Parks staff whose care for public spaces lifts community wellbeing. Their work is easy to take for granted – until it’s missing.
Resentment and Reality
Of course, people are right to ask tough questions. Government headcount has grown. Spending as a proportion of Jersey’s economy is up. In many areas, service improvements are hard to see. Islanders are entitled to expect more.
But frustration becomes counterproductive when it’s built on generalisation. “They’re all overpaid.” “They add no value.” “They profligately spend what we earn.” These charges don’t hold up under scrutiny – and worse, they corrode trust.
Most public servants aren’t especially well-paid. Many face constraints that private firms don’t: serving everyone, not just the profitable; operating in political environments; being accountable in ways that go far beyond quarterly reports. Are there things to fix? Absolutely. But contempt won’t deliver change. Collaboration might.
Mutual Wealth: Why Public and Private Need Each Other
One of the loudest criticisms of public service is that it consumes wealth without producing it. That taxation funds a bloated bureaucracy which drags down growth. It’s a view that gets traction – especially when tax bills rise.
But this misses the central truth: the private sector and public service create different types of wealth. The private sector generates financial wealth. The public sector – when it works – generates civic wealth: education, security, infrastructure, public health, environmental protection.
And without civic wealth, financial wealth can’t thrive. Jersey’s finance sector depends on a stable legal system, political stability, and robust regulation. Tourism depends on clean beaches, good public transport, maintained heritage sites. Construction depends on clear planning rules, safe roads, and waste services. Every private success story rests on public infrastructure.
It’s also worth remembering, as Ben Shenton reminded us in a recent JEP article, that while it is expensive to live on Jersey much of what makes it such an attractive place to live is it’s largely secure and safe streets and a strong sense of community. I would add that these benefits are not created by market forces. They are created, maintained, and protected by public servants working in partnership with those working in the private sector.
Michael Lewis and the Prevention Paradox
In Who Is Government?, the author Michael Lewis profiles U.S. public servants whose quiet work saves lives – coal mine inspectors, disease trackers, cybersecurity analysts. His point is simple: when public service works, you don’t notice. You only notice when it stops.
That insight applies just as powerfully to Jersey. When public servants prevent harm, enable others, and manage risk – they’re rarely thanked. But their absence would be keenly felt. Prevention doesn’t make headlines. But it matters.
Facing the Challenges Together
None of this is an argument for complacency. Jersey’s public service needs reform. Legacy systems are creaking. Accountability needs strengthening. Digital capability lags behind. And some services – notably in health – are under real strain.
But sustainable reform will not come from vilifying public servants. It will come from recognising the complexity of their work, involving them in change, and judging outcomes fairly.
The private sector has a huge role to play – not just in generating income, but in helping shape solutions, partnering on innovation, and holding the system to account. But the goal shouldn’t be to shrink government for its own sake. It should be to shape public services that support and enable private initiative.
A Better Conversation
The truth is simple. We need both sectors. One generates the money. The other builds the society. One creates value through markets. The other through shared service. And when both are working well, everyone benefits.
So let’s retire the lazy caricatures. Let’s stop the pointless comparisons. Let’s focus on how Jersey can remain a place where enterprise flourishes – because the foundations are strong.
Public and private. Wealth and wellbeing. Partners, not rivals. That’s the conversation we need.