barbudaful politics

Political Parties

• Barbuda People's Movement ( BPM )
• Antigua Labour Party (Barbuda Branch) ( ALP )

Central Government

Barbuda is part of a three-island state with Antigua and Redonda. After independence in 1981 Antigua and Barbuda remained a monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State. Her representative in the state is the Governor General, presently Dame Louise Lake-Tack. Parliament, situated in Antigua, consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Representatives or MPs are elected by popular vote from 16 constituencies in Antigua and one in Barbuda. A general election must be held within five years of the previous one. Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The Prime Minister heads a Cabinet of Ministers who administer the State. All legislation is introduced in the House of Representatives and then passed to the Senate for review and assent. The whole form of Government is modelled on the British Parliamentary System.

On 25 March 2004 the United Progressive Party (UPP) defeated the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) administration to become the majority party in Parliament. Their leader Baldwin Spencer is the Prime Minister. Robin Yearwood is the leader of the opposition party, the ALP. Trevor Walker represents Barbuda in the House of Representatives, while Mackenzie Frank and Atkinson Beazer sit as Barbuda's Senators.

Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and joined the Caribbean Single Market and the Caribbean Court of Justice on 30 June 2006.

Local Government

The Barbuda Council

The Barbuda Council runs the internal affairs of the island on a day-to-basis. The Barbuda Council was established in 1976 by the Barbuda Local Government Act, which created a council of eleven members. Nine members are elected by the registered voters of Barbuda, with the Parliamentary Representative and the Senator as ex-officio members. The Councillors serve for 4 years. Elections are held every two years in March with four seats and five seats becoming vacant at alternate polls.

The Barbuda Council administers and regulates agriculture, forestry, public health, public utilities, and roads and raises and collects revenue to meet expenses incurred in the performance of its functions.

Barbuda Council Committees and Boards

The Barbuda Council has five committees; Finance; Works and General Purposes; Health, Social Welfare and Disaster; Tourism, Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs; Agriculture, Land, Forestry, Fisheries, Coastal/Marine Protection. The Council also has two boards - the Education and Training Board and the Tourism Board.

View the membership of the Barbuda Council's committees, contact numbers for enquiries are also listed here.

Trevor Walker - Barbuda's Member of Parliament (MP)

Trevor Walker represents the Barbuda People's Movement (BPM) and Barbuda in the House of Representatives. Trevor won the general election on 20 April 2004. Trevor was sworn in by the then Governor General, Sir James Carlisle, at Government House in Antigua on 26 April 2004. He serves as Minister of State for Barbudan Affairs in the UPP cabinet.

Trevor Walker was first elected to the Barbuda Council in 2001. He was educated at the Holy Trinity School and was awarded a degree in economics by St Leo University in Florida. He worked at the K Club as the local manager for 9 years. His father, Rueben Harris, was Minister of Education for 18 years.

Mackenzie Frank - Senator for Barbuda

Mackenzie Frank received his Instruments of Appointment from the Governor General on 26 April 2004. He was sworn in as a senator at the first sitting of the Upper House.

Mackenzie Frank, was born in Barbuda and educated at the Holy Trinity School until the age of eight. He then lived in England where he obtained a degree in history and politics at Leicester. He researched The Codrington Papers as part of an MPhil programme at the University of Warwick. Mackenzie also lectured at the University of Leicester on the Urban Studies Certificate.

Since returning to the island 20 years ago, Mackenzie served as the Secretary to the Barbuda Council and has been active in politics with the Barbuda People's Movement for many years. He was instrumental in drafting the Barbuda Land Act with the Barbudan people. In 2005 Mackenzie was appointed as a senator in the parliament of Antigua and Barbuda.

Sir Hilbourne Frank

On 1 November 2004 Hilbourne Frank was knighted for his dedication to serving the people of Barbuda in the political field for over 40 years. Sir Hilbourne retired as Barbuda's representative in 2004. He had originally entered politics in 1960 when he lost to McChesney George in the general election of that year.

Sir Hilbourne graduated from Antigua Grammar School in 1950 and taught at the Grammar School, the Boys' School (now T N Kirnon), and the Holy Trinity School in Barbuda from 1950 to 1960. Then he worked at the Coco Point Lodge and as a legal secretary for Claude Earle Francis until his departure for England in 1963.

In the early sixties Sir Hilbourne established the Barbuda Workers Union and whilst living in England he founded the Barbuda Association. In 1974 he organised the first international convention of Barbudans. On returning to the island in 1979 Sir Hilbourne was elected to the Barbuda Council and became the Chairman. He attended the important Independence talks at Lancaster House and worked on the Essex Report. More recently Sir Hilbourne has dedicated his life to the pursuit of equal rights and justice for Barbudan people, and has pursued a number of legal cases to establish Barbudan's rights to ownership of the sand and land of the island.

Barbuda People's Movement

BPM Manifesto - Stepping Into to the Future

The past five years has witnessed a fundamental transformation in the relationship between Central Government and the instrument of government on the island, the Barbuda Council.

This change has come about as a result of the alliance between the United Progressive Party Government and the Barbuda Peoples Movement.

The relationship between these two parties has eradicated at least a quarter of a century of mistrust, confrontation and confusion fostered by the former ALP administration that included the ruthless exploitation of the Natural Resources of the island (sand & land); and the relegation of Barbudans to second class status in the national consciousness

The out working of this new dispensation led by Prime Minister the Hon. Baldwin Spencer saw the elevation of the victorious BPM candidate the Hon. Trevor Walker to the position of Minister of Barbuda Affairs and Public Utilities in the office of the Prime Minister. A Cabinet Position was also granted to the triumphant BPM candidate.

This change in circumstances has brought many benefits to the People of Barbuda.  These include, major improvement in the infrastructural aspects of islands economy; a new and expanded roads network, improved electrical supply, the installation of a reverse osmosis water supply system, greater educational opportunities for young Barbudans overseas and radical improvements in the Health and Social Welfare provisions of the Council.

The People of Barbuda have also enjoyed the passage into law of The Barbuda Land Act 2007, which fully recognizes communal ownership of all lands on the island, and their rights to determine how land is to be used, developed and tenured in the future. You can download a copy of the Act from the Antigua and Barbuda Government website.

A Pensions Act introduced into the legislative structure of the two islands has improved the level of security for workers on the island once they have reached the age of retirement.

For the past 30 years (since its founding in 1978) the Barbuda People's Movement has fought and struggled to bring a bright tomorrow for all Barbudans. We will continue to do so as we step into the future.

Read the full manifesto document (Word, 70KB).

Antigua Labour Party (Barbuda Branch)

Arthur Nibbs

Arthur Nibbs was first elected to the Barbuda Council in 1979 and served as Chairman for 7 years altogether, from 1985 to 1989, 1997 to 1999, and 1999 to 2000. Arthur was educated at the Holy Trinity School and the Antigua Grammar School. He was employed as an assistant air traffic controller at the V C Bird International Airport and worked as personnel manager at the K Club.

As Chairman of the Barbuda Council's Health and Welfare Committee, Arthur was instrumental in organising the volunteer medical programme with physicians from the USA and Canada. He served as chairman of this committee from 2001 to 2002.

In 1980 Arthur Nibbs was a member of the delegation that met at Lancaster House in London to discuss independence for Antigua and Barbuda. The delegation was mandated to seek a separate future for Barbuda from the island of Antigua.

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