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Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party

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Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party
LeaderTerrance Drew
ChairpersonEarl Asim Martin
Founded25 January 1932
HeadquartersMasses House, Church Street, Basseterre
IdeologySocial democracy
Political positionCentre-left
National Assembly
6 / 11
Website
www.sknlabourparty.com

The Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), also known simply as Labour, is a centre-left political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is currently in government in the country after winning six of the eleven contested seats in the 2022 general election. It is the oldest active political party in the English-speaking Caribbean.

History

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The party was founded in 1932 and was initially known as the St Kitts Workers' League.[1] It put forward two candidates in the 1937 elections, both of which were elected. It subsequently won all the elected seats in 1940, 1943 and 1946.[2]

From 1946 until 1978, the party was led by Robert Bradshaw. It saw most of its success on Saint Kitts, as voters on Nevis and Anguilla islands tended to elect independents and local parties.[3] Labour was the only party to contest the 1952 elections and won all eight seats.[4] They retained power in the 1957 despite losing three seats to independents. The party was also victorious in 1961 and changed its name to the St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Labour Party in 1966.[5] It went on to win three consecutive elections, in 1966, 1971 and 1975, winning seven seats on each occasion.

When Anguilla seceded in 1980, the party adopted its current name.[6] In the elections that year, the party was reduced to four seats, and although it was the largest faction in the National Assembly, the opposition People's Action Movement was able to form a coalition government. The Labour Party was reduced to two seats in the 1984 elections and remained with only two MPs after the 1989 elections. Although it received the most votes in the 1993 elections and won the same number of seats as the PAM, the PAM remained in power. However, early elections were called in 1995, in which the Labour Party won a majority of seats. They increased their majority in the 2000 elections and retained power in elections in 2004 and 2010.

After Labour suffered defeats in 2015 and 2020, Denzil Douglas decided to step down as party leader in 2021. Party chairman Terrance Drew was elected as his successor in a national convention.[7][8][9] Earl Asim Martin became the new party chairman.[10]

Leadership

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Election results

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Election year Party leader # of
votes 		% of
vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/– Govt?
1937 Thomas Manchester —
2 / 5
 Increase2 Opposition
1940 —
3 / 5
 Increase1 Majority
1943 Joseph Matthew Sebastian —
3 / 5
 Steady Majority
1946 Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw[12] —
3 / 5
 Steady Majority
1952 11,016 84.7 (#1)
8 / 8
 Increase5 Majority
1957 5,270 53.6 (#1)
5 / 8
 Decrease3 Majority
1961 7,808 64.5 (#1)
7 / 10
 Increase2 Majority
1966 6,249 44.3 (#1)
7 / 10
 Steady Majority
1971 7,416 50.8 (#1)
7 / 10
 Steady Majority
1975 7,363 60.2 (#1)
7 / 10
 Steady Majority
1980 Lee Moore[12] 7,355 55.0 (#1)
4 / 9
 Decrease3 Official Opposition
1984 7,463 41.3 (#2)
2 / 11
 Decrease2 Official Opposition
1989 6,642 37.3 (#2)
2 / 11
 Steady Official Opposition
1993 Denzil Douglas[12] 8,405 43.8 (#1)
4 / 11
 Increase2 Official Opposition
1995 10,662 49.2 (#1)
7 / 11
 Increase3 Majority
2000 11,762 53.6 (#1)
8 / 11
 Increase1 Majority
2004 11,426 50.6 (#1)
7 / 11
 Decrease1 Majority
2010 12,227 47.0 (#1)
6 / 11
 Decrease1 Coalition with NRP
2015 11,897 39.3 (#1)
3 / 11
 Decrease3 Official Opposition
2020 10,355 37.1 (#1)
2 / 11
 Decrease1 Official Opposition
2022 Terrance Drew 13,438 45.8 (#1)
6 / 11
 Increase4 Majority

References

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  1. ^ Robert J Alexander & Eldon M Parker (2004) A History of Organized Labor in the English-speaking West Indies, Greenwood Publishing Group, p131
  2. ^ Alexander & Parker, p136
  3. ^ Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p570 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  4. ^ Nohlen, pp576-578
  5. ^ Alexander & Parker, pp135–136
  6. ^ Nohlen, p569
  7. ^ "Dr. Douglas not seeking SKNLP leadership nomination". www.sknvibes.com. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  8. ^ "SKNLP Leaders: Party not divided ahead of elections". www.sknvibes.com. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Drew takes over SKNLP leadership". www.sknvibes.com. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  10. ^ Browne, Kevon (30 November 2021). "SKNLP's New Executive Committee Announced after recent Conference". WINNFM 98.9. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d Gunson, Phil; Chamberlain, Greg; Thompson, Andrew (22 December 2015). The Dictionary of Contemporary Politics of Central America and the Caribbean. Routledge. ISBN 9781317270546.
  12. ^ a b c Gunson, Phil; Chamberlain, Greg; Thompson, Andrew (22 December 2015). The Dictionary of Contemporary Politics of Central America and the Caribbean. Routledge. ISBN 9781317270546.
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