Toppin won’t stand for reelection – say sources

A third Barbados Labour Party (BLP)  Member of Parliament appears set to bow out of elective politics this week, Barbados TODAY has learned.

Longstanding St Michael North MP and Minister of International Business Ronald Toppin is likely to announce his departure on Wednesday, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

Efforts by Barbados TODAY to reach BLP General Secretary Dr Jerome Walcott up to the time of publication were unsuccessful.

A special meeting of the St Michael North Branch for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. was announced on the BLP’s YouTube page. Both Toppin and Prime Minister Mia Mottley are set to address the meeting.

Toppin has served six unbroken terms as MP for the constituency. Entering elective politics in 1991, he won his seat in the 1994 general election that brought the BLP into power.

Toppin’s departure would follow the September 30 announcement by Health and Wellness Minister Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic that he will not contest the City of Bridgetown seat in the upcoming general elections constitutionally due in 2023. Government’s Poverty advisor Corey Lane is bidding for the nomination.

Then, on October 17, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture John King told his St Philip West constituents he would not be seeking re-election after just one term in government.

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Senator Kay McConney has been tipped as the candidate of choice to replace King in the riding. (SD)