#BTSpeakingOut – What has the party of Barrow come to?

by Anselm Brathwaite

On the eve of Errol Barrow Day, the leadership of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is once again embattled, this time over its decision to rename the auditorium of the party’s headquarters after Barrow.

According to a stunning admission from General Secretary Steve Blackett, at no point did the powers that be in the DLP think that it was appropriate to consult, or at the very least inform, the surviving members of Barrow’s family.

Even more astonishingly, in the face of the clear opposition of Barrow’s son – who was simply representing the wishes of his late father – the DLP leadership has still elected to go ahead, disregarding the feelings of the family and the conviction of their supposedly revered late leader.

Is this what the party of Barrow has come to? It was not enough that the DLP reversed his education legacy by imposing tuition fees at the University of the West Indies. Now, they are in open defiance of the expressed wishes of the great man himself.

Unfortunately for Dr Ronnie Yearwood, these recent events simply highlight that he is very new to the DLP and has no roots in that party, which might account for the lack of regard for Barrow.

I only wonder what the rank and file of the DLP, who profess love for Barrow, will do now in the face of this clear and open assault on their late leader.