Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

We’ll take it from here! Premier says VIP seeking clear mandate

We’ll take it from here! Premier says VIP seeking clear mandate

While acknowledging the work of other coalition members within the Government of National Unity (GNU), Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley suggested that it was his incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP) that largely contributed to staving off a suspension of the territory’s constitution and ultimately, direct rule by the United Kingdom (UK).
It is this feat that allowed the Premier to confidently state that his government has shown that it could handle the relationship with the UK well enough to simultaneously strengthen the territory’s institutions and protect the rights of its residents and therefore deserved another stint at leading the territory.

The Virgin Islands Party is presenting a whole team of persons who can be relied on to do what has to be done to protect the interests of the people of the Virgin Islands – including ensuring that our constitution is not suspended,” Premier Wheatley expressed.

Dr Wheatley assured residents that his party will continue to respect the rule of law and demonstrate accountability, transparency and good governance as it delivers progress for the people.

A damning Commission of Inquiry (COI) report issued at the end of April last year pushed for the controversial UK takeover as its first and overarching recommendation for facilitating badly needed governance reforms in the territory.

However, Premier Wheatley’s VIP joined forces with two other parties — the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) and the National Democratic Party (NDP) — to form the coalition GNU and agreed to a timetable to implement those reforms.

The UK signed up to the framework agreement for the reforms with the caveat that the COI’s first recommendation could still be enforced quickly through a UK parliamentary Order in Council if these reforms were found to be deliberately delayed or obstructed in any way.

Clear mandate

Premier Wheatley, in the meantime, explained that although the territory weathered the storm of direct UK rule with assistance from two other parties, the VIP is now seeking specific conditions from the electorate on the way forward.

“Now we’re seeking a clear mandate from the people of the Virgin Islands [on] what administration they want to take, not only the reforms forward, but the governance of the territory as we chart a course for the next 15, 20 years. That’s what we’re asking for the people of the Virgin Islands,” Dr Wheatley said.

He expressed that the coalition government has served its purpose in taking the territory towards elections and said some level of stability was also established in the process.

Premier Wheatley indicated that a date for the upcoming elections has not yet been decided but will be shared with the public once this has been done.

General Elections are constitutionally due by May 2023.
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?
×