Two former DLP members switch sides, welcomed into the BLP

Two former members of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), have switched sides, and have been welcomed by their former rivals into the Barbados Labour Party (BLP).

Prime Minister Mia Mottley made the announcement while speaking to party supporters at the end of a celebratory motorcade for the new St George North representative, Toni Moore.

Moore won the seat in a hotly contested by-election on Wednesday.

Mottley said even though the members, George Connelly and Rodney Grant, had joined weeks prior, she did not see it fit to make the announcement in a huge way on the campaign platform.

“Within the last few weeks, we have had two candidates who ran against the BLP on behalf of the DLP, join us. I didn’t make any noise, I didn’t drag them across a platform, like how Woody [previous BLP member Anthony Wood] was dragged, because I didn’t want to make it a cheap political act,” Mottley said.

“They have come to us because they believe that at this time in Barbados’ history, we are the better party. I want to thank Rodney Grant for coming back home, and I also want to thank George Connolly, who in spite of running against Kerrie Symmonds [in the last election], recognises this country needs all hands on deck if we are to build and go forward,” she said.

Mottley also stated that the party was also willing to work with apolitical individuals, as her administration seeks to attack all major issues facing citizens on the island head-on, in a holistic way.

The BLP celebrated their recent by-election win with a large motorcade through the heart of St George North.

Moore said the motorcade was a fitting end to the many weeks dedicated on the campaign trail.

“This is a culmination of another milestone in this journey and in this campaign. We have gone through the campaign and completed the election, and today is all about saying thank you. Thank you to the people of St George North who elected me as their representative, and with this thank you, is the commitment to honour all of the [pledges] that would have been made throughout the course of the campaign.

“We have established a number of priorities that should see us through the next two and a half years, and this is not only a thank you, but the closure of one stage, and the opening of another stage,” she said. (SB)