Ralph Thorne’s confirmation as president of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is being seen by some political analysts as a step toward stability after years of internal turmoil. At the same time, the return of former minister Donville Inniss to a top post has sparked debate about whether the party is jeopardising its fragile recovery.
Thorne, already the party’s political leader, secured the uncontested presidency during the DLP’s annual conference over the weekend.
Inniss, a former Cabinet minister who was convicted of money laundering in the United States in 2020 and later served a prison sentence, was elected first vice-president.
He has maintained his innocence and does not have a criminal record in Barbados.
The new executive also includes Quincy Jones, Stephen Lashley and Felicia Dujon as second, third and fourth vice-presidents, respectively; Pedro Shepherd as general secretary; Gaarie Graham as deputy general secretary; and James Paul as treasurer. General council representatives elected were Hartley Reid, Colin Spencer, Pamela Murray, Shirley Clarke, Patrick Gollop and Alwyn Babb.
The shake-up follows a period of bitter internal disputes marked by expulsions, resignations and very public fallouts.
Political scientist Dr George Belle described Thorne’s consolidation as a clear sign that the party is recovering after months of turbulence.
“I think that’s just an aspect of the consolidation of the Democratic Labour Party after the experience last year when they were seriously destabilised,” he told Barbados TODAY.
“It is a sign of their recovery that they have been able to get him into a position where he could say he’s the elected president.”
Dr Belle argued that Inniss’ return could help fill a long-standing leadership void, noting that the DLP has struggled to retain strong figures since the days of Errol Barrow.
“Its biggest suffering has been the loss of leadership…. They’ve been losing leaders all the time, so that they have a leadership deficiency,” he said. “To that extent, anybody who is an asset in terms of leadership is to the advantage of the party.”
But Dr Belle cautioned that the real test will be whether Inniss can regain public trust.
“He has succeeded at least at the first level,” he said. “The party found him acceptable to take that post. The question will be whether he can go beyond the party and the electorate of his constituency. People will have to determine whether he can be trusted. If he overcomes that, then he will be back home.”
Not everyone agrees the move is wise. Political scientist Devaron Bruce warned that reinstating Inniss could deepen the party’s image crisis at a time when its brand is already under strain.
“If you look at the trajectory of the party, you would see that more and more voters are turning away from the Democratic Labour Party,” Bruce said.
“Since the turn of the century, the DLP was only able to attract four out of every ten votes cast. The brand of the party, from my estimation, is a problem.”
Bruce questioned why the party would risk elevating such a controversial figure while preparing for a critical election: “Why would a political party that has a branding issue return an individual such as Donville Inniss to the leadership and the public leadership of the party? In that context, it doesn’t make any sense. Quite frankly, I am again predicting publicly that the Democratic Labour Party will not do very well in the upcoming election at all.”
On the other hand, Bruce considered Thorne’s presidency a wise call, noting that it is not unusual for the roles of president and political leader to be combined before a general election – a strategy aimed at streamlining candidate selection and party administration.
Political analyst Peter Wickham also viewed Thorne’s presidency as expected and sensible, while acknowledging that he was surprised by Inniss’ successful bid for the first vice-presidency.
“If the DLP has already invested in Thorne as political leader, that’s probably the best way for them to go. It doesn’t risk division,” he said.
“At this point in time, I think we have to look to see what [Inniss] does with the post. If he is supportive administratively, I think it’s perfectly fine,” Wickham said, suggesting that Inniss could provide “some level of adult supervision” within the party.
But he warned the situation would become far more controversial if Inniss sought to contest a parliamentary seat.
“It only becomes controversial in a situation where he decides to run for a seat,” Wickham said.
“There is interestingly a vacancy in St James South, and against that background, if his name emerges, that would be a point at which we would need to ask ourselves whether it’s wise given his background.”
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