Lorna Smith to be axed from NDP’s corner
Chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Marlon Penn, has announced that fervent moves are now afoot to remove Deputy Premier Lorna Smith, OBE from his party.
In a joint press conference held with members of the political opposition today, Penn expressed in no uncertain terms that Smith moved unilaterally to form the government with the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) without the knowledge of her fellow NDP colleagues.
“Her decision to form an alliance in the name of the party is not representative of the party,” Penn stated. “The party brass met last evening and we made a decision that we’re going to move forward and [take steps] to have her removed as a member of the organisation and the formal process will be done in terms of that removal process.”
Penn’s comments were echoed by other members of the opposition, including NDP’s Sixth District Representative, Myron Walwyn.
Meanwhile, Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) Chairman, Ronnie Skelton, expressed that the proverbial rug was pulled from beneath members of the political opposition when Smith decided to form a government with the VIP without consulting other elected officials outside of the VIP.
“We had negotiations between the three leaders — PU (Progressives United), NDP, and ourselves,” Skelton stated. “While we were negotiating, the rug was pulled from under us. So, that’s the only reason we are not in government.”
According to Penn, negotiations started in earnest between the PVIM, NDP and PU over a strategy on how to move forward. However, the three groups were blindsided amid those negotiations on the morning after the elections by Smith’s defection.
This then left the parties with no choice but to regroup as members of the political opposition.
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We don’t need no snake in our garden. She not even Eve. VIP was the Eve that was trying to call every single Adam in the garden of the opposition to bite of their fatal apple. She’s the snake itself. Get rid of her.
Objectively speaking:
PVIM – You failed your voters! the clock started ticking when the election results were out. procrastination, poor leadership and no vision made you loose a big offer on the table.
NDP – acting on emotions rather than strategy. Lorna got the second most votes, she is an asset to your party if you know how to spin it! Poor leadership again!
VIP – Politics at its best. You played and you won – congratulations
Them boy thought they was gonna put a frigg on her but she drop a reverse draw 4 and UNO! kill dem boy leverage dead lolol.
good we don’t need her
Look, I’m on record supporting the now Deputy Premier’s decision to join the VIP and form the government, and I am not going to take it back because I think it was a wise decision on her part.
However, it cannot be overlooked that:
1. Many people voted for her as a NDP candidate in hopes of outing the VIP government. I can understand their disappointment. However, it is important to note that she was NOT joining the VIP in helping them form the government.
2. As for not consulting her other colleagues about her decision, and pulling the rug from beneath their feet, on the surface that appears to look bad. However, one has to ask: in their purported negotiations among themselves, how involved or made to be involved was Mrs Smith in those discussion?
We need clarity on that, not that it matters much now that the government has been formed. But it will help some to understand why she did what she did.
Was she an integral part of these so called negotiations or was she being marginalized and ignored?
An answer to those questions will help to clarify in some people’s minds if she was right in making the decision she did particularly those who voted for her and now feel disenfranchised.
At any rate, I do not think it’s a good idea to kick her out of the party. The government needed to be formed, and one way or the other, there had to be a cross over for this to have worked or the country would have faced the embarrassing prospect of the governor having to make a choice.
IMO, the NDP should suck it up, let her remain in the party as someone within the government on their side to the extent she is, and they continue holding the government to account in the opposition.
To do otherwise looks petty and vindictive. It is what it is.
We cannot speak of independence when we even cannot agree amongst ourselves to form a government.
Let it go NDP. The country has a lot of fish to fry to move it forward. Lick your wounds and let’s get on with it.
IMO, the country does not need any more pettiness and division. What’s done is done. Kicking Mrs Smith out of the party will not change anything at this point.
If anyone was paying attention they would noticed the utter confusion surrounding NDP PU AND PVIM.
Not to mention Marlon was hopping the British governor will lead for him and be the one to form the government!
This mindset is unacceptable in VI politics, we don’t need opportunistic sleepers to represent us the people! Their play was to stall the process and have the governor make the decision!
Marlon may have won his race, but he is no leader! Not the kind we need in the future!
I’m convinced that NDP and all of their supporters are delusional and out of touch. Laughable lol lol.
You were taking time when there was no time to be taken. Now you crucifying Lorna for making the most logical decision. SMH.
NDP Chairman is a hit dog crying
Stay salty. They country has moved on. Continue and argue in the opposition. If alliances were being formed then come with plans B and C in case of issues arising. You all didn’t think ahead and were blindsided. The country needed to heal and all three parties took too long. Why hold meetings with just heads where you had two individuals 1 from PVIM and 1 from NDP with the two highest votes. They should have been included to and not be left aside. Yet your claiming your a party? Nope! Sounds like greed!
You all took too long to sort out the internal confusion which to me if NDP PVIM and PU formed an alliance it would’ve been a MESS!
Marlon can’t make hard decisions thats his problem and why he can’t get Premiership. Politics you have to make swift and hard decisions constantly.
The all loss they all need to focus on being the opposition.
One thing CANNOT LIE and that is the truth. Thank you to the opposition for speaking your truth. It was also good to hear from STACY Mather. Some people need to watch that joint press conference.
After all the lies she has been telling. I really don’t think she gives a hoot about the voters. She already got what she wanted from them. So it’s on to the next goal. Her only interest is herself.
Natalio better sleep with one eye open.
They were calling the VIP. Just ask Myron and the others. So tell me who are the Eves and Adam’s?
Couldn’t agree before election and we expect them to agree after?
I agrees with you. Wherever Marlon Penn, Ronnie Skelton, And especially power hungry Myron Walwyn, Julian Fraser and Melvin Mitch Turnbull are there will be confusion, friction, fighting, victimization and conflict. I hope Stavey don’t end up like them.
Proud of you the opposition for holding your ground. Had Lorna not been so hateful of Ronnie becoming the premier, which is the only reason why she hopped like a grasshopper to the other side, then the correct government would have been in place today. Put Lorna in the NAUGHTY CORNER where she belongs. You guys can now move forward, #betterstrongertogether #stillthebesthope.
Supremes got rid of Dianna Ross.
Guess who did best.
Lorna gonna scorn ya.
NDP can remove Lorna from the party that she, her husband and others helped to form over this issue but Kedrick who cost them the 7th District last time and Ronnie/Mitch who cost them last elections are there smiling at the Press Conference with them. Marlon can make such a swift and serious decision at the drop of a dime but the PVIM and NDP could not merge for the betterment of the Territory. If those parties merged we wouldn’t have either Fraser or VIP to be dealing with at this time but look at where we are now playing the blame game. This is a huge mistake on NDP’s part.
Do not believe everything you hear. She is the one who was trying to frig them behind the scenes. Stacy Mather said it himself. Lorna and Cindy was trying to drag him over to the VIP side. That is the negotiating that snake called Lorna was doing. Just do not believe everything you hear.
Silly Boy – everyone knows that you keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Perhaps if they had sorted it out earlier then Lorna have not felt she had to do what she did. Tjis childish response shows they not cut out for leadership. If she dint amke the move then it would have been the Governor making the decison.
If you do that you remove any incentive for her to grasshop again and give you the majority if she cant get on with the VIP. DONT CUT OFF YOU NOSE TO SPITE YOUR FACE.
Really? I wonder if you were in the room?
ALl it is Lorna wanted top or deputy and because it was a NDP/PVIM coalition she was not going to get either. All she had to do was say that is what she wanted.
Sowande throw a promise at her and she take it. I bet he did not offer the same to the others.
Again, Country above self! She is for her and her siblings. She campaigned with the party and against the party at the same time. So NDP was use to her being a loose canon. She just wanted to get in, so NDP was the only way.
Frazer os the snake in your garden.. all of them trying to cover up.
Call her what you want, OBE, ABC, HIJKLMNOP, at the end of the day, a snake IS A SNAKE and THAT is her legacy. Our Creator Reigns over all the evil in this country.
Pvim ndp and pu right way they sopost to be hole on to that greedy and power hungry a**holes
She did the best thing. Don’t mind the haters Lorna them boys just vex that you took the power out their hands. They were never going to use you, and wanted to keep you in the background. Even though you bought so much to the table… a set of bad mind jokers!
You will continue to shine because excellence rest upon you.
It look like the Devil deceive Eve again
Do you think that God care she chose to side with VIP? You think God is going to punish her for that? Do you think what she did was a sin? Who told you that God didn’t send her… please keep God out of this nonsense. She joined the VIP big deal. A bunch of PVIM and VIP Cry babies through the place. Well I guess R**n** and others get a chance to see how it feels to get the rug pulled from under them. That’s good for them i hope that what she did stings them for the next couple months lol lol lol
Alvera Maduro-Cains and Lorna Smith are the same
The same thing Alvera Maduro-Cains did by leaving the NDP and crossing the floor and went with the VIP, that is why the People from the six district Voted her Out.
The Devil deceive Eve again.
Ask Lorna Smith and Dr. Smith how they felt when Mark left the NDP and went to the VIP.
The woman outsmarted the lot- simple
You and others were calling each other trying to make a decision but so was the VIP. What you think they would have sit down and just lose power. You yourself say they called you. While you and others were trying to figure out what to do, so were they. You should have think what if they had accept Mr. Fraser offer?? your parties would have been in the same shambles.
What about us who voted for lorner and the vip because we know she was a better choice than our own atlarge vip choices it turned out just the way I thaugth is best for the country
She outsmarted them all to become deputy premier. Well done – super qualified – will serve the territory well
Let her stop saying she is NDP..
I voted for her because I knew she was NDP!
Not because I knew her!
I for one am not happy with her movement after the elections and before the swearing-in!
After the elections, there should have been more input from the people! We feel like there is even less transparency than ever!!
Marlon showing some backbone, good to see but to bad it don’t help the country now.
… the VIP are desperately trying persuade another opposition member of the HoA to change sides so that they can dump Lorna as deputy premier and leave here with no party!
I really don’t get how people could say the 3 party leaders were wasting time. Elections end at 11pm Lorna hop skip gone to VIP before man could even eat breakfast the morning after. At least give the leaders 1 business day to negotiate, and iron out details. Like use some common sense people.
This whole saga reminded me of the brutal murder of Julus ceasear in the senate…. “you too Brutus “… was the words said by him while he was bein stabbed by the person he so trusted. What a bitter tale we tell. This will not be forgotten for sometime … The betrayal is worst than the sting itself.
She has finally shed her skin and shown us who she really is…. A true politician indeed , not the people’s representative like she campaigned as , lol . Her actions were that of a very skillful woman in politics….by any means at all. She out witted them , by remain quite , untill it was time to strike.
Don’t these gentlemen think they are big enough failures without digging themselves any deeper. Lorna made a statement about what took place, you all reneged on a meeting, ignored her, made no contact the following day, so, in the absence of any professional action, she acted accordingly. You all have to live with her for the next four years, and, being as she is the Deputy Premier, no one needs to be a genius to know what reception you will get from her if do something as stupid as you are considering.
Thank you Lorna for being in our corner. Have a blessed day.
I feel real bad for Kye not a ĺarty member but come over demote me for POWER.Mr. Slowman this aint done it’s wrong &unjust to Kye.He defended slowman up to the last sitting of 688 honest mistakes he even come aboard with head coach issue now lòok what you did to him another honest mistake
Forming a government is not like 1, 2, 3 go . Some of us faik to understand
2. Lorna should have indicated her intentions to the chairman out of courtesy..
3. Uk was no where take over in the time frame
4. There was reasonable time for the three chairmen to discuss
5. Lorna could not wait . The offer from VIP was too tempting
6.?I am glad Mather exposed her . She wanted him to jump too
Conclusion
A. She is not loyal
B. She is unreliable
C. She showed high disregard and disrespect for the NDO Chairman
D. There is no justification in the manner with which she did it .
Poor Uncle Joe could not stop the empress
He must be so ashamed of her actions . Because he is a man of integrity and principle
On the other hand the brother is a graddhopper .. it runs in the DNA ? ??
He has integrity. He is no grasshoppers
Only Lorna can make swift decision go sidding
Is now thing start
1 vote in the VIP camp cannot overide 6
Lorna will be truly in VIP corner
VIP will silence and squeeze you . They use you to maintain the government just like how you use NDP platform to secure votes
Stop trying to cause confusion.
It could have been handled differently but the reality is time waits on no man.
She will be meet with stiff oppersition, there will be enormous stress to keep here brother’s NHI in tack
They played all right. Played throwing down envelopes with $700 and $750 ask the man with the barge. Same old dirty games
” I don’t love you less but I love my country more”
Keep Ronnie out your mess
@Me
Kye is a true example of country over self. This is the kind of person that we need in government. May God richly bless you Kye.
Long winded rubbish. You cannot have a member who cross party lines remain in the ranks. Loyalty and confidence have already been jeopardised.
Kedrick did it in 2019 and caused Sowande to win the 7th. Mitch and Ronnie destroyed NDP in 2019 causing them to lose to VIP. Marlon cozied up with them at the press conference while lashing at Lorna. He has yet to lash out on Picko, Ronnie or Mitch. Marlon is not a leader, he is a chump!
We dont need her in NDP Team, once you violate why want to stay…no snitching. She looking power and fool off the people to get in and after the outcome she made that switch.
Faser was the dumbass one could of take deputy, but he want power and i can say this…3rd people are far more jackasses to vote him in again and again.
This is the most confusing statement on this matter as all points raised clashed with each other.