Alliance says door remains open to Skelton and Penn

Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn said the door remains open for fellow opposition members Ronnie Skelton and Marlon Penn to join the new political alliance formed with Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull and Stacy Mather.

Speaking during The Alliance Radio Show on April 23, Walwyn made it clear that the team remains willing to welcome others.
“The door remains open for our colleagues to join what we are doing, to make the position stronger,” Walwyn said. “We believe that if we are together, we are stronger indeed. And for that purpose, we extended our hands out.”

According to Walwyn, opposition lawmakers were concerned that not enough was being done to hold the government accountable and to press them.
“At one point, we had three political parties and an independent person,” he said. “We didn’t believe that we were being as effective as we could have been because we were working in silos.”

Walwyn hinted that differing views among opposition members may have prevented them from coming together under the Alliance umbrella. “Of course, we had our views in terms of how this arrangement should come together. There was a different view of it, but we can still keep the doors of negotiation and discussions open… the door remains open for reconciliation and discussion.”

The Alliance, which was publicly launched earlier this year, now includes three of the five opposition members in the House of Assembly.

“There are five of us in the opposition, and I do have hope that we can find a common ground to stand on for the people of the Virgin Islands,” Mather said during the show, sharing the sentiment that the opposition could still unite.

The Alliance has publicly stated its aim is to provide a stronger and more effective opposition force in the House. Turnbull highlighted that the group’s formation came after years of public requests for greater collaboration among opposition voices.

“There has been a lot of conversations… over the last two years for us to get together,” Turnbull explained. “We are aligned to get these things done both in the House and outside of the House.”

He called on residents to give the new group a chance, adding, “Have an open mind.”

Although no formal invitation has been made public, the Alliance members say the group is open to including others, both within the House of Assembly and in the wider community. “I hope that other members in the community who seek to have a voice and also those who seek to have a voice and lead will join us,” Mather stated.

The Alliance plans to continue hosting regular public outreach events, including radio shows and community meetings, to keep residents informed and engaged.