Speaking to BVI News, Fraser said he and Dr Wheatley, along with Opposition Leader Marlon Penn and Second District Representative Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull, had a meeting on Sunday where he offered up the proposal of a unified government.

“I offered to him an all-party government. I went ahead and explained to him what the all-party government is supposed to be and how it is supposed to work. When we offered it to him, he said he liked the idea, but he would have to take it back to his people,” Fraser said.

“He went ahead and came back in the evening, told us that they did not accept it and they were furious about it. Of course, somebody had to lose their job for us to get those positions that he has; the sitting government that he has,” the Senior legislator added.

Fraser said he explained to Dr Wheatley that he and the now-dismantled Virgin Islands Party administration can say what they please but based on the Commission of Inquiry Report and based on what the representative of the UK came to do, this was the most feasible option.

“You have nothing, the only thing you can do right now is to give them the best offer possible and I think for them the best offer possible is a unified House of Assembly dedicated to working together in the best interests of getting those recommendations implemented and out of the way,” he said.

“They did not buy it. So, he went down there and gave them his and we presented ours. When we started explaining what our proposal is, this all-party government, they – that is the Overseas Territories Minister [Amanda Milling] and the Governor – started expressing interest through their body language and the questions they were asking and I noticed that since then, that was Monday, the Acting Premier and the other two members of the other parties of the house, they came around,” Fraser told the House of Assembly on Thursday, May 5.

Credit to Dr Wheatley

The senior legislator also gave credit to Dr Wheatley for what he described as having the courage to make the sacrifices he made in shedding some ministers and proposing the Opposition take over those ministries.

“The important thing is I have no choice and they have no choice but to work together. The last thing they want me to do is being out there saying things that are contrary to what they promised. Bear in mind, with all this we are saying and all they are doing, we have no agreements. No guarantee this will happen,”. Fraser said.

He maintained the unified House of Assembly proposal was the best option available and he was happy it was presented. He reiterated that Dr Wheatley has gone to great lengths to make a tremendous sacrifice.

“He has lost friends already, he had to sack two ministers, so to speak, and he is up there now doing this to the Premier. He has lost friends,” Fraser added.