Montserrat Labour Party

History

The party was established in 1951,[1] and was linked with the Montserrat Trades and Labour Union.[2] In the 1952 elections, the first held under universal suffrage, the party won all five seats in the Legislative Council. It lost two seat in the 1955 elections, but won four seats in 1958.

Constitutional changes in 1960 created the post of Chief Minister, with MLP leader William Henry Bramble becoming the first person to hold the post. The party won five of the seven seats in the 1961 and 1966 elections.

The 1970 elections were the first occasion on which the MLP had faced serious opposition.[3] Percival Austin Bramble, son of William, had previously been a member of the MLP and was elected to the Legislative Council as an MLP candidate in the 1966 elections.[4] However, he subsequently broke away to form the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) as a result of controversy over the number of holiday and retirement homes being built on the island.[3] The PDP won all seven seats in the elections, leaving the MLP without parliamentary representation.

The party remained dormant until being resurrected to contest the 2009 elections. Led by Idabelle Meade, it nominated three candidates. Despite finishing second in the popular vote, it failed to win a seat.[5]

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References
  1. Howard A Fergus (2003) Constitutional Modernisation in Montserrat and the Cayman Islands: Taking the British Seriously?
  2. South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2003, Taylor & Francis, p574
  3. Robert J Alexander & Eldon M Parker (2004) A History of Organized Labor in the English-speaking West Indies, Greenwood Publishing Group, p144
  4. Howard A Fergus (1996) Gallery Montserrat: Some Prominent People in Our History, Canoe Press, p124
  5. General Election Results - 8 September 2009 Caribbean Elections
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