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No light shining on Henry. Not even a shadow ministry.
JLP remains mum on Henry snub
Alicia Dunkley
Sunday, January 22, 2012
THE Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is tight-lipped over the howls of protest from party supporters in Central Clarendon, following the exclusion of former Transport and Works Minister, party chairman, Lester ‘Mike’ Henry from the 16-member shadow Cabinet named by Leader Andrew Holness last Thursday.
JLP supporters on Friday demonstrated outside of Henry’s constituency office in May Pen against the party’s treatment of their member of parliament. They are calling on the party to explain why Henry was not given a shadow ministry and are insisting that he was deliberately sidelined.
HENRY... we should at least be shown that respect
WILLIAMS... party’s official position is no comment
HENRY... we should at least be shown that respect
#slideshowtoggler, #slideshowtoggler a, #slideshowtoggler img {filter:none !important;zoom:normal !important}
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Henry resigned as minister of transport and works several weeks before the December 29 general elections, which his party lost, after several irregularities were uncovered by the auditor general in the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) which was under his management.
Holness, speaking briefly on the issue at a press briefing on Thursday where he unveiled his shadow Cabinet, had said upon assessment that no place had been found for Henry at this time.
Yesterday in the wake of the protests the party’s response was even more cryptic.
“The party’s official position is ‘no comment’, the leader of the Opposition has already said all there is to say on that matter,” Opposition Jamaica Labour Party Senator Arthur Williams, who is also party spokesperson, told the Sunday Observer on Friday.
Speaking with the Sunday Observer, Henry said that the supporters were questioning the reason he “was not considered or placed” and whether he “had been consulted and offered a position” and whether he had “refused same”.
“I advised them I had not been consulted nor was I offered anything. Basically, the executive, which is the way we run Central Clarendon has taken the matter with a resolution and they are doing what I would expect anyone to do, asking the leader and the leadership to come and tell them why because I just don’t know why”, Henry told the Observer yesterday.
Henry has the distinction of being one of two of the longest serving MPs, of over 32 years entering the race for Parliament in 1976. He lost then to OD Ramtallie but won in 1980 and has never lost since.
“They consider that a constituency that has served the party and myself that we should at least be shown that respect, coupled with the fact that they also know that I am chairman of the party and they figure that this is a double disrespect and of course I agree,” Henry said.
It is Henry’s view that he has been treated shabbily by the party.
“My judgement call on that would be they haven’t handled it properly because I would have expected that after the years of service, the issues, some of which relate to whether I was fired or I resigned, would have been addressed by the leader sitting with me and that’s the leader inviting me not me seeking to meet with him which I did as the chairman,” Henry said.
He told the Sunday Observer that meetings had been held with the Opposition Leader but were based on his (Henry’s) initiative and had nothing to do with the shadow Cabinet but with the issue of his resignation and the nominations for chairmanship of the party.
“He (Holness) never said ‘look I am not considering you at all’,” Henry pointed out.
In the meantime, he said that he was not considering ditching the party but is not ruling out sitting in Parliament as an Independent member.
“I’ll never think of not representing the Jamaica Labour Party but I’ve always been an independent mind and I’ve challenged the democratic issues that I think need to be challenged within the party and I’ve always confronted them not from behind a door but upfront... that’s always an option I will continue to face because nowhere in my political career have I owed anything within the party structure to the leadership’s blessings overall,” said Henry, who had challenged former Prime Minister Edward Seaga for the leadership of the JLP said yesterday.
“The leader may have mentioned to me that it may have disturbed the younger people that I have said I will be pushed in a wheelchair to Parliament (referring to a vow he made in the past to remaining in the party as long as ever), then I maintain that I owe everything I have to the constituency I represent, I feel I would have betrayed them if I went to face the electorate knowing I had no future to assist them in which case I would have been honest and told them I prefer of you choose someone else. I would even have told the party that.
In the meantime, Henry said that only the people of Central Clarendon had the power to remove him.
“If the people are saying in their demonstration that they are in agreement for me to go, I respond to the people’s will but they just voted me in with a larger percentage majority than I have had in the past and they told me not to bother campaigning and made me rest at home for most of the campaign period.
“So indeed after this analysis the party should have the ability to come and pay them the respect of telling them why their member of Parliament has not gained whatever it is, that is what they are demanding and they deserve to be respected because we have retained the seat for the JLP,” he argued.
“I was responsible for the parish of Clarendon in the 2007 elections when we won five out of six seats,” Henry said, noting that Clarendon had won the government that election which saw them triumphing at the polls then with a 32-28 seat margin.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1kDDcvowW
Alicia Dunkley
Sunday, January 22, 2012
THE Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is tight-lipped over the howls of protest from party supporters in Central Clarendon, following the exclusion of former Transport and Works Minister, party chairman, Lester ‘Mike’ Henry from the 16-member shadow Cabinet named by Leader Andrew Holness last Thursday.
JLP supporters on Friday demonstrated outside of Henry’s constituency office in May Pen against the party’s treatment of their member of parliament. They are calling on the party to explain why Henry was not given a shadow ministry and are insisting that he was deliberately sidelined.
HENRY... we should at least be shown that respect
WILLIAMS... party’s official position is no comment
HENRY... we should at least be shown that respect#slideshowtoggler, #slideshowtoggler a, #slideshowtoggler img {filter:none !important;zoom:normal !important}
1/2 Henry resigned as minister of transport and works several weeks before the December 29 general elections, which his party lost, after several irregularities were uncovered by the auditor general in the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) which was under his management.
Holness, speaking briefly on the issue at a press briefing on Thursday where he unveiled his shadow Cabinet, had said upon assessment that no place had been found for Henry at this time.
Yesterday in the wake of the protests the party’s response was even more cryptic.
“The party’s official position is ‘no comment’, the leader of the Opposition has already said all there is to say on that matter,” Opposition Jamaica Labour Party Senator Arthur Williams, who is also party spokesperson, told the Sunday Observer on Friday.
Speaking with the Sunday Observer, Henry said that the supporters were questioning the reason he “was not considered or placed” and whether he “had been consulted and offered a position” and whether he had “refused same”.
“I advised them I had not been consulted nor was I offered anything. Basically, the executive, which is the way we run Central Clarendon has taken the matter with a resolution and they are doing what I would expect anyone to do, asking the leader and the leadership to come and tell them why because I just don’t know why”, Henry told the Observer yesterday.
Henry has the distinction of being one of two of the longest serving MPs, of over 32 years entering the race for Parliament in 1976. He lost then to OD Ramtallie but won in 1980 and has never lost since.
“They consider that a constituency that has served the party and myself that we should at least be shown that respect, coupled with the fact that they also know that I am chairman of the party and they figure that this is a double disrespect and of course I agree,” Henry said.
It is Henry’s view that he has been treated shabbily by the party.
“My judgement call on that would be they haven’t handled it properly because I would have expected that after the years of service, the issues, some of which relate to whether I was fired or I resigned, would have been addressed by the leader sitting with me and that’s the leader inviting me not me seeking to meet with him which I did as the chairman,” Henry said.
He told the Sunday Observer that meetings had been held with the Opposition Leader but were based on his (Henry’s) initiative and had nothing to do with the shadow Cabinet but with the issue of his resignation and the nominations for chairmanship of the party.
“He (Holness) never said ‘look I am not considering you at all’,” Henry pointed out.
In the meantime, he said that he was not considering ditching the party but is not ruling out sitting in Parliament as an Independent member.
“I’ll never think of not representing the Jamaica Labour Party but I’ve always been an independent mind and I’ve challenged the democratic issues that I think need to be challenged within the party and I’ve always confronted them not from behind a door but upfront... that’s always an option I will continue to face because nowhere in my political career have I owed anything within the party structure to the leadership’s blessings overall,” said Henry, who had challenged former Prime Minister Edward Seaga for the leadership of the JLP said yesterday.
“The leader may have mentioned to me that it may have disturbed the younger people that I have said I will be pushed in a wheelchair to Parliament (referring to a vow he made in the past to remaining in the party as long as ever), then I maintain that I owe everything I have to the constituency I represent, I feel I would have betrayed them if I went to face the electorate knowing I had no future to assist them in which case I would have been honest and told them I prefer of you choose someone else. I would even have told the party that.
In the meantime, Henry said that only the people of Central Clarendon had the power to remove him.
“If the people are saying in their demonstration that they are in agreement for me to go, I respond to the people’s will but they just voted me in with a larger percentage majority than I have had in the past and they told me not to bother campaigning and made me rest at home for most of the campaign period.
“So indeed after this analysis the party should have the ability to come and pay them the respect of telling them why their member of Parliament has not gained whatever it is, that is what they are demanding and they deserve to be respected because we have retained the seat for the JLP,” he argued.
“I was responsible for the parish of Clarendon in the 2007 elections when we won five out of six seats,” Henry said, noting that Clarendon had won the government that election which saw them triumphing at the polls then with a 32-28 seat margin.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1kDDcvowW