House Speaker to come from outside Parliament in constitutional change

For the first time in generations, Barbados is set to overhaul its parliamentary structure by allowing the Speaker of the House of Assembly to be elected from outside the chamber and enabling senators with ministerial roles to participate directly in House debates.

The landmark constitutional and legislative amendments introduced by Prime Minister Mia Mottley mark a significant shift in how parliamentary representation and ministerial accountability operate.

Mottley told fellow lawmakers it was unfair to the Member of Parliament holding the position of Speaker not to be allowed a voice and to represent their constituents in the House.

But rather than follow the United Kingdom’s approach and prevent anyone from running against the Speaker in their constituency while they hold that office, her administration has chosen to elect a person other than an MP to hold the apex role in Parliament.

She said: “When we were reflecting as to which one should happen, it was the view of the government that the more palatable way for Barbados is not to argue that no one should run against the Speaker, because we will have a hard time trying to explain that in the context of our culture.

“But like other Caribbean islands, [it was felt] that we should move to a point where the Speaker can be elected from outside of the elected members. The Speaker will still be elected by the Parliament.

“Obviously, if the government has the majority numbers, the government gets effectively to choose who that Speaker is, in the same way that the government will choose who the Speaker is in the current set of circumstances.”

Under the current arrangement, Speaker Arthur Holder, the MP for St Michael Central, had no voice in parliamentary debates to represent the interests of his constituents, placing him at a disadvantage compared with his fellow MPs, the prime minister declared.

Conceding that the majority position on the Parliamentary Reform Commission preferred to keep the status quo, the prime minister said the administration went instead with the minority position on the matter.

Mottley also said the other reason for the amendments was to give those who sat in the Senate but held ministerial positions the “right of audience” in the House to address matters that directly related to their ministries.

She told the House: “Those who sit in this House have the benefit on the majority of portfolios… [and are] expected to answer the questions. However, if you are debating a matter where, for example, the minister is in… the Senate, in this instance, it might be the Ministry of Health.

“It might be the Ministry of Energy and Business. It might be the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology. Take, for example, some of the bills that are currently before this honourable Parliament, like the Human Transplant Bill.

“The Minister of Health does not sit in here. Now, we’re lucky that in this particular instance, we have a Minister of State in the Ministry of Health. But in the other two ministries, there is no representative inside this honourable chamber for them.”

“In such circumstances, the amendment would allow for these senators to attend Parliament and address the Lower House during debates on matters that impact their ministries.” (IMC)