Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Political leaders debate: A new age of BVI politics

Political leaders debate: A new age of BVI politics

In what might very well be a first in Virgin Islands history, leaders of the main political parties in the territory participated in a political debate ahead of the upcoming general election.
The Virgin Islands Party’s (VIP) Dr Natalio Wheatley, the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement’s (PVIM) Ronnie Skelton, the National Democratic Party’s (NDP) Marlon Penn, and Julian Fraser of Progressives United — all chairmen of their parties — gathered inside the auditorium at H Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) last evening and shared their political ideologies for the territory.

Organised by HLSCC’s Virgin Islands Studies Institute, the debate gave voters a chance to watch in real-time as leaders faced off on multiple issues such as fiscal policy, social welfare, and healthcare. They were even made to answer to decisions they’ve made during their time as a political representative.

Perhaps most importantly, though, yesterday’s successfully staged debate signalled a development of Virgin Islands politics. The value of political debates cannot be understated as they are important for voters to see their political leaders on the same stage responding to the same questions or addressing the same topics.

They not only allow voters an opportunity to learn more about a leader’s brand of politics before going to the polls, but debates also allow voters to see how well these leaders are able to think on their feet beyond scripted campaign messages. During yesterday’s debate, the four political chairmen had an opportunity to deliver a short opening and closing address, and respond to questions in front of a live audience of supporters and HLSCC students, among others.

The 2023 general election is scheduled to happen on April 24 and has been described in several spaces as the most important election so far in the territory’s history. If this is true, the political leaders’ collective willingness to participate in these debates this time ’round — after neglecting to do so in previous years — may not have come at a better time.

BVI News will report on the issues arising from yesterday’s chairman debates in subsequent publications.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
Close
0:00
0:00
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
Two US Employees Fired For Chasing Robbers Out Of Store As They Broke ''Company Policy''
BVI Freedom Song
If you donated to BLM, you got played
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
The Sussexes' Royal Rebound: Could Harry and Meghan Markle Return to the UK?
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
Hello Dolly
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
Is Saudi Arabia the holiest place in the world? Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions from "The Mount Sinai Stand" Discovered in Saudi Arabia
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits to Assassination Attempts on Putin
Yes He Can
WATCH THIS: democracy in Russia is so bad!
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Ed Davey: It is possible for a woman to have a penis
Unforgettable
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
The Lord's Prayer
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
Siyahamba
Steve Jobs introducing Apple's iPhone, exactly 16 years ago.
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
Banking Behemoth vs Ex-Boss: The PMorgan-Epstein Entanglement
Ramblin' Rose
China overtakes Japan as world's top car exporter
Protoje - Who Knows ft. Chronixx
Last Walmart in North Portland Closing Down
Pressure - Virgin Islands Nice
Banking Behemoth vs Ex-Boss: The PMorgan-Epstein Entanglement
Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord
Florida's DeSantis seeks to disqualify judge in Disney case
My God Is Real (Yes, God Is Real)
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
The Lion King Circle of Life by LEBO M. — LIVE at the HAVASI Symphonic
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
Kanye West Sunday Service - hallelujah, salvation, and glory
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Jonathan Nelson - I Believe (Island Medley
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
From The Virgin Islands Sqad Up
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Common, John Legend - Glory
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell - If I Ain't Got You
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
BVI Freedom Song
The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines calls the British monarchy "an absurdity" he wants to remove in his lifetime
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Remarkable video from our Fox drone team
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
The official tapes of Trump's deposition in the E. Jean Carroll battery (rape) and defamation case have been released.
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Here is the full video that the media are purposely not sharing
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
King Charles III being crowned.
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
New York procedures cover up cold blooded first degree murder of black man by white man
Hello Dolly
Video: Ukraine MP Punches Russian Representative At Global Meet
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
El Paso mayor has declared a state of emergency
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones in an attempt to kill Putin
Yes He Can
Ahead of King Charles’ coronation, British guards rehearse in the middle of the night in London
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Dutch court orders man who fathered 550 kids to stop donating sperm
Unforgettable
Kim Kardashian Lookalike Christina Ashten Dies Of Cardiac Arrest, Hours After Plastic Surgery
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
Samsung has banned employees from using generative AI services such as ChatGPT
The Lord's Prayer
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
A Real woman
Siyahamba
×