The Barbados Labour Party (BLP), colloquially known as the "Bees", is a social democratic political party in Barbados established in 1938. It has been in power in 1954–1961, 1976–1986, 1994–2008, and 2018–present. Its leaders have included Grantley Adams and Owen Arthur.
In common with Barbados' other major party, the Democratic Labour Party or the "Dems", the BLP has been broadly described as a centre-leftsocial-democratic party, with local politics being largely personality-driven and responsive to contemporary issues and the state of the economy. However, the party distinguishes itself by being rooted in Asquithian Liberal policies, including a focus on trade as a way of bolstering economic growth over the creation of social services.[1]
Originally called the Barbados Progressive League until 1944, the 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, respectively. Adams had entered the House of Assembly in 1934 partly through his deconstruction of the labour-focused efforts of the Charles Duncan O'Neal’s Democratic League,[3] but this new party turned to organizing the political movement brought on by the unrest of 1937 that he had earlier opposed. As such, their objectives included many of the league’s original goals, such as adult suffrage, free education, and better housing and health care.[4]
The BLP 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 leader of the opposition, after a bitter and tumultuous internal battle within his own party, resigned the post and joined the governing party.
Grantley Adams House, the party's current headquarters, Bridgetown
The Barbados Labour Party governed from 1994 to 2008, which was commonly called the "Owen Arthur Administration". Prime Minister 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.
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, the party he had belonged before crossing the floor to the BLP, 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.
After a decade in opposition, the BLP returned to power on 25 May 2018 under Mia Mottley, who became Barbados's first female prime minister.[7] The party originally won all of the seats in the House of Assembly, but Bishop Joseph Atherley, the MP for St. Michael West, became an independent MP (later founder and leader of the People's Party for Democracy and Development[8]) and the leader of the opposition on 2 June 2018.[9]
In January 2022, Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s Labor Party (BLP) obtained a landslide victory, winning all 30 legislative seats, in the first general election since Barbados became a republic in 2021.[10]
^"Kingston Gleaner Newspaper Archives, Mar 27, 1958, p. 20". NewspaperArchive.com. 27 March 1958. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
Further reading
F. A. Hoyes. The Rise of West Indian Democracy: The Life and Times of Sir Grantley Adams. Advocate Press (1963).
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barbados Labour Party.
Official website
June 26, 2023
barbados, labour, party, colloquially, known, bees, social, democratic, political, party, barbados, established, 1938, been, power, 1954, 1961, 1976, 1986, 1994, 2008, 2018, present, leaders, have, included, grantley, adams, owen, arthur, leadermia, mottley, m. The Barbados Labour Party BLP colloquially known as the Bees is a social democratic political party in Barbados established in 1938 It has been in power in 1954 1961 1976 1986 1994 2008 and 2018 present Its leaders have included Grantley Adams and Owen Arthur Barbados Labour PartyLeaderMia Mottley MPFounderSir Grantley AdamsFounded31 March 1938 As the Barbados Progressive League HeadquartersGrantley Adams House 111 Roebuck Street BridgetownYouth wingLeague of Young SocialistsIdeologySocial democracyRepublicanismPolitical positionCentre leftColours Red and GoldHouse of Assembly30 30Senate12 21Websitewww blp org bbPolitics of BarbadosPolitical partiesElectionsNow led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley it is the governing party of Barbados and the sole ruling party in the House of Assembly of Barbados holding 30 out of 30 seats In common with Barbados other major party the Democratic Labour Party or the Dems the BLP has been broadly described as a centre left social democratic party with local politics being largely personality driven and responsive to contemporary issues and the state of the economy However the party distinguishes itself by being rooted in Asquithian Liberal policies including a focus on trade as a way of bolstering economic growth over the creation of social services 1 The BLP is a former observer member of the Socialist International 2 Contents 1 History 2 Electoral history 2 1 House of Assembly elections 2 2 West Indies election 3 2018 candidates 4 Branches 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksHistory EditOriginally called the Barbados Progressive League until 1944 the 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 respectively Adams had entered the House of Assembly in 1934 partly through his deconstruction of the labour focused efforts of the Charles Duncan O Neal s Democratic League 3 but this new party turned to organizing the political movement brought on by the unrest of 1937 that he had earlier opposed As such their objectives included many of the league s original goals such as adult suffrage free education and better housing and health care 4 The BLP 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 leader of the opposition after a bitter and tumultuous internal battle within his own party resigned the post and joined the governing party Grantley Adams House the party s current headquarters Bridgetown The Barbados Labour Party governed from 1994 to 2008 which was commonly called the Owen Arthur Administration Prime Minister 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 5 After the election Arthur stepped down as BLP leader and was replaced by former deputy prime minister Mia Mottley in a leadership election against Attorney General of Barbados Dale Marshall Mottley also became opposition leader 6 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 the party he had belonged before crossing the floor to the BLP 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 After a decade in opposition the BLP returned to power on 25 May 2018 under Mia Mottley who became Barbados s first female prime minister 7 The party originally won all of the seats in the House of Assembly but Bishop Joseph Atherley the MP for St Michael West became an independent MP later founder and leader of the People s Party for Democracy and Development 8 and the leader of the opposition on 2 June 2018 9 In January 2022 Prime Minister Mia Mottley s Labor Party BLP obtained a landslide victory winning all 30 legislative seats in the first general election since Barbados became a republic in 2021 10 Electoral history EditHouse of Assembly elections Edit Election Party leader Votes Seats Position Result1951 Grantley Herbert Adams 53 321 54 5 15 24 15 1st Majority government1956 48 667 49 3 15 24 1st Majority government1961 Hugh Gordon Cummins 40 096 36 8 4 24 11 2nd Opposition1966 Grantley Herbert Adams 47 610 32 6 8 24 4 2nd Opposition1971 Harold Bernard St John 39 376 42 4 6 24 2 2nd Opposition1976 Tom Adams 51 948 52 7 17 24 11 1st Supermajority government1981 61 883 52 2 17 27 1st Majority government1986 Bernard St John 54 367 40 4 3 27 14 2nd Opposition1991 Henry Forde 51 789 43 0 10 28 7 2nd Opposition1994 Owen Arthur 60 504 48 3 19 28 9 1st Majority government1999 83 445 64 9 26 28 7 1st Supermajority government2003 69 294 55 9 23 30 3 1st Supermajority government2008 61 316 46 5 10 30 13 2nd Opposition2013 74 121 48 2 14 30 4 2nd Opposition2018 Mia Mottley 112 955 73 5 30 30 16 1st Supermajority government2022 78 720 69 03 30 30 1st Supermajority governmentGraphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues West Indies election Edit See also West Indies Federal Labour Party 1958 West Indies federal elections West Indies Federation and Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation Election Party Group Leader Votes Seats Position GovernmentNo Share No Share1958 11 WIFLP Grantley Herbert Adams 72 054 57 8 4 5 80 0 1st WIFLP2018 candidates EditWilfred Abrahams Christ Church East William Duguid Christ Church West Rev Joseph Atherley St Michael West Colin Jordan St Peter Jeffrey Bostic The City of Bridgetown Santia Bradshaw St Michael South East Gline Clarke St George North Adrian Medic Forde Christ Church West Central John King St Philip West Ian Gooding Edghill St Michael West Central Cynthia Forde St Thomas Marsha K Caddle St Michael South Central Charles Griffith St John Edmund Hinkson St James North Arthur Holder St Michael Central Sandra Husbands St James South Kirk Humphrey St Michael South Dale Marshall St Joseph Mia Mottley St Michael North East Neil Rowe St Michael North West George Payne St Andrew Peter Phillips St Lucy Trevor Prescod St Michael East Ryan Straughn Christ Church East Central Dwight Sutherland St George South Kerrie Symmonds St James Central Ronald Toppin St Michael North Dr Ralph Thorne Christ Church South Sonia Browne St Philip North Indar Weir St Philip South Branches EditThe women s branch of the Barbados Labour Party is called the Women s League The youth branch is called the League of Young Socialists References Edit Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society Vol 44 1998 Member Parties of the Socialist International Archived from the original on 3 May 2013 Retrieved 28 October 2011 Gordon Lewis The Growth of the Modern West Indies New York 1972 Keith Hunte Emancipation III Aspects of the Post Slavery Experience of Barbados 1988 Thompson sworn in as Barbados PM Xinhua 17 January 2008 Trevor Yearwood MIA takes over Nation News 20 January 2008 Archived 23 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine Nation News 24 January 2008 Barbados General Election Results 2018 caribbeanelections com Archived from the original on 12 September 2019 Retrieved 26 May 2018 Atherley defends move to start new party The Barbados Advocate 7 September 2020 Bishop Atherley now Leader of the Opposition The Barbados Advocate 2 June 2018 Barbados PM hails governing party s landslide election victory www aljazeera com Kingston Gleaner Newspaper Archives Mar 27 1958 p 20 NewspaperArchive com 27 March 1958 Retrieved 25 June 2020 Further reading EditF A Hoyes The Rise of West Indian Democracy The Life and Times of Sir Grantley Adams Advocate Press 1963 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barbados Labour Party Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Barbados Labour Party amp oldid 1156945601, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
