barbudaful politics

There are currently two political parties on Barbuda

The Antigua (Barbuda) Labour Party (ABLP) and the Barbuda People's Movement (BPM)

Central Government is based in Antigua

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 and her representative in the state is the Governor General, presently Dame Louise Lake-Tack.

Parliament, situated in St Johns, Antigua, consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate and representatives (or MPs) are elected by popular vote from sixteen 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 and all legislation is introduced in the House of Representatives and then passed to the Senate for review and assent - this 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. Gaston Brown is the leader of the opposition party, the ALP. Trevor Walker represents Barbuda as our MP in the House of Representatives, while Mackenzie Frank and Adrian Lee 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.

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 and 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 Works and Transport 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 nine years. His father, Rueben Harris, was Minister of Education for eighteen 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 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 and researched The Codrington Papers as part of an MPhil. programme at the University of Warwick. Mackenzie also lectured at the University of Leicester. Since returning to the island twenty five years ago, Mackenzie has served as the Secretary to the Barbuda Council and 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 forty years. Sir Hilbourne retired as Barbuda's representative in 2004 and 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 personally pursued a number of legal cases to establish Barbudan's rights to ownership of the islands sand - which was illegally mined for many years by members of the Antiguan government - and to their land rights and self determination through the Land Act.

Antigua (Barbuda) Labour Party (ABLP)

Arthur Nibbs

Arthur Nibbs is currently Chair of Barbuda Council following the success of ABLP in the 2013 Council elections, when both Gaston Brown and Asot Michael came to Barbuda to support the ALP in Barbuda campaign. Arthur 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. 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. The ABLP in Barbuda is the Barbuda branch of the ALP in Antigua, now led by Gaston Brown following the illness of Lester Bird, son of Vere Bird and part of the Bird family political dynasty who controlled Antiguan and Barbudan government until 2004.

http://wn.com/Antigua_Labour_Party www.asotmichael.org

Barbuda People's Movement (BPM)

BPM Manifesto - Stepping Into the Future

The past eight years has witnessed a fundamental transformation in the relationship between Central Government and 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 and the improved relationship between these two parties has eradicated at least a quarter of a century of mistrust, confrontation and confusion fostered by the former Antigua Labour Party administration. This included their ruthless exploitation of the natural resources of the island through sand mining and through their wanton allocation of Barbudan land to so called 'investors' who do not have the islands' interest at heart, and relegating Barbudans to second class status in the national consciousness.

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.

Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has given our Barbuda Peoples Movement MP Trevor Walker a Cabinet position, Minister for Works and Transport. This change in circumstances and recognition of the Barbudan people has brought many benefits to Barbuda.  These include major improvement in the previously negelected infrastructural aspects of the islands economy; a new and expanded roads network, greatly improved electrical supply, the installation of a reverse osmosis water supply system, greater educational opportunities for young Barbudans overseas, radical improvements in the Health and Social Welfare provisions of the Council, a new Community Centre and a Fisheries building. 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 thirty years (since its founding in 1978) the Barbuda People's Movement has fought and struggled to bring a bright tomorrow for all Barbudans, fund-raising locally through food fairs (pictures below) and small donations from local people. We will continue to do so as we step into the future. Read the full manifesto (Word, 70KB).