Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Is Marlon A. Penn the new NDP Chairman?

Is Marlon A. Penn the new NDP Chairman?

Since the former Chairman Myron V. Walwyn tendered his resignation on May 21, 2019, as Chairman the National Democratic Party (NDP) the party has been without a leader.

However, during a 2023 New Year’s Message Hon. Marlon A. Penn (R8) the Minister for Health and Social Development in the coalition Government referred to himself as the “Chairman.”

Efforts to reach Honourable Penn over the last few days have been unsuccessful. An NDP spokeswoman referred our newsroom to Mr Penn for verification and classification as she only sends out “what I am given”.


Chairman of the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) Mr Ronnie W. Skelton, left, a former Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, will be contesting the 2023 general elections under his PVIM banner. Right is Opposition Leader and Chairman of Progressives United, Hon Julian Fraser RA (R3).

How did Hon Penn become Chairman?                   

Other senior party officials have told our newsroom that “at the last NDP convention Mr Penn was elected Deputy Chairman, with Mr Walwyn as Chair, however following the resignation of Myron; Marlon became the Chairman.”

It is unclear how the NDP constitution addresses this matter. There were consistent negotiations over the past two years to seek a new Chairman of the party and to reunite the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM), an NDP breakaway faction led by Ronnie W. Skelton, back to the NDP. Those talks have failed.
The National Democratic Party (NDP) had split into two prior to the 2019 general elections.


Ronnie Skelton in the 2023 race

Sources within the PVIM told our news centre earlier this week that Mr Skelton, a former Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, will be contesting the 2023 general elections under his PVIM banner.

Both Walwyn and Skelton as party leaders were defeated in the 2019 general elections where the Virgin Islands Party (VIP), led by former Premier Andrew A. Fahie, won 8 out of 13 seats, Three of the other seats went to the NDP, one to the PVIM and one to the upstart Progressives United led by now Opposition Leader Hon Julian Fraser (R3).

The House of Assembly must be dissolved by March 12, 2023, and an election held within a minimum of 21 days or a maximum of two months after March 12, 2023, according to the Virgin Islands Constitution, Section 86.

It remains unclear who will be running on the NDP slate led by Hon Penn.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×