Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

'We have become more unfriendly & unloving to each other'-Lesmore Smith

'We have become more unfriendly & unloving to each other'-Lesmore Smith

Former Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) At-Large candidate Lesmore Smith has urged that the core values and principles of late Chief Minister Hamilton Lavity Stoutt be upheld by the [British] Virgin Islands (VI).

Mr Smith's statement came on March 6, 2023, the public holiday to celebrate the birth anniversary of the late H. Lavity Stoutt.

“Let’s remember his mantra: ‘Where there is no vision the people perished,’" Mr Smith said.

“Our survival as a people and a nation, beholds us to become responsible, for what we say or do about and to each other.

“I’ll be the first to admit I’m not and would never be perfect in this life. That doesn’t give me the right, to look down at the other person despite their strengths or weaknesses. We organised marches to the government house, to save our democracy, but at the same time we create social media conversations to destroy what’s left of us and this is not right”, he continued.

Businessman Lesmore Smith, who unsuccessfully contested for a seat at the 2019 General Election in the Virgin Islands, had made it known since December 2022 that he would be vying for a seat at the 2023 elections.



Where is the love?

Smith said there is also a need for love and respect toward each other.

"We seemed to [have] become more unfriendly and unloving to each other...What more do we need for us to respect and appreciate each other?”

He pointed to the present climate with young people, whom he noted are crying out for help while adults constantly fight against each other.

“Where is our leadership and support in their success?

“The things we do and say are not helpful, in them making positive decisions. They’re looking up to us for directions but it seems like we’re looking at them instead. We claimed it’s the British Invasion but we are our own invaders. We asked the rest of the world for help to save us but we need to help ourselves by changing the things we say about each other. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link”, Mr Smith said.

'I'm a proud Virgin Islander'- Smith

He noted; however, that each individual has a right to democracy and they have to live with their decision.

“Our friendship or association is also a democratic process. We don’t have the right to affiliate or align it for our own selfish gains.

“I’m a proud British Virgin Islander. This country and its people have done well for me in my development. I’ve never been ungrateful in giving and helping anyone in time of need”, Mr Smith said.

Smith, who is now contesting as an Independent At-Large candidate, had initially announced last December, that he was running as At-Large candidate with the Party, only to later be forced off the ticket, after he was asked to run in the Fifth District.

He reportedly opted not to, as his slot was taken by a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Ingrid A. Moses.
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?
×