DLP trio endorses Guy Hewitt

Two Cabinet ministers in the Freundel Stuart administration and a former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) backbencher have publicly endorsed Guy Hewitt’s bid to be the next president of the opposition party.

Former ministers Ronald Jones and John Boyce and ex-MP James Paul threw their support behind Reverend Hewitt’s challenge of Verla De Peiza for the party’s leadership at a joint meeting of the St Philip branches at the Princess Margaret School on Sunday.

Paul declared to thunderous applause: “I want to take the opportunity this evening to endorse Guy Hewitt’s candidacy for president, not because of the fact that I have anything [to gain] but because of the fact that on a studied analysis of the persons offering themselves, we need a different approach in the Democratic Labour Party.”

The former St Michael Central MP who now chairs the DLP’s St James Central Branch, underscored to the audience of about 60 people in the audience and more than 600 viewing online, that they all had a responsibility to the DLP and Barbados.

“I am saying to you that when you weigh the possibilities in front of you and when you examine what has been happening in the party [DLP] since 2018, in terms of the party’s readiness, the party’s image and everything else, you have to seriously be living in what I call ‘La-La Land’ not to think that you need to look at an alternative for leader,” he said.

The president of the Barbados Agricultural Society said that while people must “value the contributions of everyone, we have to look at horses for courses, and I encourage you to give Comrade Guy the opportunity to make the contribution that he can make”.

Paul added: “If we keep on doing the same thing, getting the same result, who must we blame but ourselves? In 2018, who can we blame for the result we got but ourselves? And we are back here now in 2021 and some of the same questions that we refused to answer then are back in front of us, and we could do what some of us did then – refuse to face up to the reality and try to hide – but there is no hiding to be done anymore.”

Jones, the former representative of Christ Church East Central, pointedly told Hewitt that his former constituency would “welcome” him should he look to stand in the next general election.

Indicating that he first met Hewitt at the Christ Church Parish Church, Jones said that “it makes no sense to be a president of a party and not also be in the hustings”.

He challenged Hewitt that if he was saying that he “has some talents, ideas, and philosophies”, then he should “bring them to bear not just for the party but the country”. The former minister of education pledged every resource that he still has available to Hewitt.

Jones suggested that Hewitt’s challenge for the presidency of the DLP gave life to the true principles of democracy. He added that he had become highly despondent in relation to the DLP since 2018. Jones stated that DLP candidates were presently being selected to support the current leadership but not necessarily to win a seat. He indicated that constituents might not feel “connected to the candidates” that were being chosen to support the party’s current leadership.

Jones added that candidates have to prove themselves, not only with regard to a track record but also with raising money. He said that the St George North by-election taught the DLP “a stern lesson” with regards to financing election campaigns. He noted that there were still outstanding debts from a “small, parochial election” and cautioned that if the DLP “thinks it could go forward into a general election without funding they could forget about it”.

He added that there were candidates coming to the DLP hoping the party would finance their political aspirations. But the former acting PM was emphatic: “That can’t work” as there is currently a “paucity of resources in the DLP”.

Adding his support to Hewitt was the former minister of health and parliamentary representative for Christ Church South, John Boyce, who indicated that he was “saddened by lack of energy in the DLP for the last couple of years”.

He noted that the DLP was “built and sustained by the strength of the branches”.

Boyce thanked Hewitt for the energy he has brought to the political organization over the past three months. He attributed the attention that is now being paid to the DLP to Hewitt and indicated that he would not be surprised if Hewitt was “rewarded” for his effort “by being elected as president of the DLP”. (BT)