Barbados Labour Party

Barbados Labour Party
Leader	Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur, M.P.
Founder	Sir Grantley Adams
Deputy leader	Dale Marshall
Founded	31 March 1938
Headquarters	Grantley Adams House, 111 Roebuck Street, Bridgetown, Barbados
Youth wing	League of Young Socialists
Ideology	Social democracy, Democratic socialism
Political position	Centre-left
International affiliation	Socialist International (observer)
Official colours	Red and Gold
Website
http://www.blp.org.bb
Politics of Barbados Political parties Elections

The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is the main opposition party of Barbados. Led by Rt. Hon.Owen Arthur, the BLP holds nine out of 30 seats in the House of Assembly as of January 2008. It is a member (observer) of the Socialist International^[1] and considered as “moderate left of centre”.

History

Originally called the Barbados Progressive League, the Barbados Labour Party was founded on 31 March 1938 at the home of James Martineau. During the first meeting, Chrissie Brathwaite and Grantley Adams were elected as Chairman and Vice-Chairman. The party was the organization vehicle for the political movement brought on by the unrest of 1937 and which ultimately resulted in a peaceful transfer of power. The objectives of the founders included adult suffrage, free education, and better housing and health care. It first participated in general elections in 1940. In 1994 Owen Arthur became the Prime Minister as leader of the Barbados Labour Party.

In the 2003 elections the BLP won 23 out of the 30 seats. The number increased to 24 in 2006, when in an almost unprecedented development the then leader of the opposition, after a bitter and tumultuous internal battle within his own party, resigned the post and joined the governing party.

The Barbados Labour Party governed 1994-2008, which was commonly called the "Owen Arthur Administration". Former Prime Minister Owen S. Arthur was chosen from among leaders around the globe to deliver the William Wilberforce lecture on the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade Act.

The party lost power in the 2008 general election, winning 10 seats against 20 for the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).^[2] After the election, Arthur stepped down as BLP leader and was replaced by former Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who also became Opposition Leader.^[3]

In the summer of 2008 Hamilton Lashley, MP for St. Michael South East, resigned from the party to become an Independent candidate in the House of Assembly. He was thereafter given a job by the DLP as a consultant on poverty. This move by the member reduced to nine the number of seats the Barbados Labour Party had in the House.

References

• F. A. Hoyes. The Rise of West Indian Democracy: The Life and Times of Sir Grantley Adams. Advocate Press (1963).

External links

• Official website
• Barbados Labour Party on Facebook

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