Lashley’s party switch keeps pressure on struggling DLP — analysts

Two political analysts said Michael Lashley’s defection to the Barbados Labour Party underlines the Democratic Labour Party’s deepening crisis, even as they disagreed on whether the former minister is now headed for a new frontline role.

 

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Mia Mottley confirmed that Lashley, who won the St Philip North seat three times on a DLP ticket, is now a member of the ruling party, a development that has intensified speculation about his future role.

 

Bruce ‘not surprised’

For political analyst Devaron Bruce, the move had not surprised observers.

 

“As far as the Michael Lashley situation goes, I don’t think at this point there is any surprise within the political scene and the general public that Michael Lashley is now a member of the BLP,” he said.

 

“The reality is that the DLP over the last two years has had some tremendous difficulties since Ralph Thorne, in the sense that you’ve had a splitting of the party, some persons have voluntarily exited, some persons were forced out and there’s just a general disinterest, a dislike and a disassociation with the Democratic Labour Party in the last couple of years.”

 

“So it’s not surprising that Michael Lashley is seemingly finding better turf outside of the Democratic Labour Party. I assume that it’s not just his doing but really efforts by the Barbados Labour Party to pull him over because they very well see him as one of the last remaining talents of the DLP.”

 

Bruce argued that Lashley was unlikely to join the BLP simply to fade from public life.

 

“Given the fact that he was a former government minister who won elections on multiple occasions, I would assume he would not leave the DLP to join the BLP to sit by the wayside,” he said. “I would assume that some form of political elevation was offered to him, whether a seat or maybe a ministry through the Senate.”

 

Asked about what that role could look like, Bruce added: “It may very well look like him running in a seat in St Philip. It may very well be his traditional seat of St Philip, St Philip North. But that now creates a circumstance where the current MP may have to reconsider her political future.”

 

Wickham: Dems unable to hold talent

The Director of Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES) and political scientist Peter Wickham agreed that issues under opposition leader Ralph Thorne’s leadership had contributed to Lashley’s shift, but he insisted he did not expect the former DLP stalwart to contest St Philip North.

 

“It just continues a conversation that has been started a long time that we already know that the Democratic Labour Party is not able to attract and hold talent and the fact that this continues to happen means that nothing has materially changed,” he said. “This is a problem that they were having before and it’s clear that under Ralph Thorne the situation has not materially changed or improved and that there’s still this challenge in terms of talent.”

 

Wickham, who also hosts a call-in programme, said he remained cautious about predicting Lashley’s precise role. “I really don’t know, I mean I believe he’s up to something,” he said. “When I spoke to him on the radio he said that he hadn’t made any of those decisions yet but I am fairly sure that he’s not going to St Philip. I’m fairly sure he’s not going to St Philip because [the current MP Dr] Sonia [Browne] has not shown an interest in giving up the seat… she’s there already and I don’t get the impression that the PM is inclined to push Sonia out the main way for him as a candidate.”

 

Both analysts also weighed in on the abrupt resignation of former DLP St Michael West candidate and Young Democrats president Shaquani Hunte. Bruce said: “I think it would suggest that the DLP remains unattractive.”
Wickham said: “I don’t know what’s going on with her but I sense that this issue with her has been more personal. . .”

 

He added that the recent departures from the DLP pointed to deep concerns about its long-term viability, noting that people considering political careers no longer viewed the party as a viable option and were more likely to see the BLP as the organisation capable of advancing their ambitions.

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb