Hinkson going after St James North a third time

St James North Member of Parliament Edmund Hinkson has put speculation of his imminent departure from elective politics to bed. And, the young man who, for nearly two months, was said to be replacing him has also contradicted the rumour.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Hinkson, when asked about his intentions in the wake of the surprise announcement of the upcoming General Elections, declared: “Yes, I will be contesting the next election.”

Two months ago, at the beginning of November, a poster emerged on social media, supposedly revealing the names of new Barbados Labour Party (BLP) candidates. Included in the ten rumoured candidates was attorney-at-law Harry Husbands, who was tipped to replace Hinkson, also a lawyer, in St James North.

Thus far, four of the rumoured candidates— Corey Lane, Kay McConney, Davidson Ishmael and Romel Springer have been confirmed for the January 19 poll.

Hinkson, a former Minister of Home Affairs, when asked if he had ever contemplated moving aside for another potential candidate, he replied: “Move aside for who, sir?”

“A significant majority of the people of St James North, with whom I have spoken over the last nine months, have made it clear to me that they wish me to contest the elections and continue to be their Member of Parliament,” said Hinkson.

“I cannot let down my people, who have been so generous in electing me on two previous occasions, the last of which by an overwhelming majority, to be their parliamentary representative,” he added.

Barbados TODAY understands that some constituents believed that the transition from Hinkson to Husbands was a done deal.

On the other hand, Husbands, 30, said he only knew about the rumour of his intended candidacy when the viral poster was shared with him on November 1.

Ironically, Husbands, a former longstanding member of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) youth arm, the Young Dems, is the son of Austin Husbands, who contested the St James North seat in 2003 and 2008 against Rawle Eastmond. He was unsuccessful on both occasions.

“To say I have no interest in the seat might not necessarily be accurate… but I think somebody may have been up to a little mischief in creating that poster. I can’t even tell you that the BLP was courting me. That just appeared one day, and I was very shocked when it appeared,” Husbands told Barbados TODAY.

“I said on social media that it was fake news, but quite frankly, if I were to spend my time trying to dispel every rumour, I would probably spend my entire life dispelling rumours and never doing what I actually want to do,” he added.

In the meantime, Hinkson is gearing up to face another opponent— Charles Worrell, the DLP’s candidate in the upcoming election.

“I do not see anybody else with a campaign house anywhere in the constituency, so I do not know who is my opponent, but I presume that we will know on nomination day,” said Hinkson.

The St James North MP noted that COVID-19 has severely altered the way politicians keep in contact with constituents, particularly during lockdowns.

But he added that simply calling each constituent on their birthdays has been a useful way of finding out the challenges they are facing and addressing them.

“Since elections, I have personally been to over 95 per cent of the households of the houses in St James North,” said Hinkson.

“So the majority of my constituents, I believe, would testify to the fact that I have, to the best of my ability, kept in contact with them and their families, in spite of what has happened regrettably to our country, over the last 22 months,” he added. kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb