One leader! - Bunting ally Golding rallies support around Phillips
Published:Tuesday | June 9, 2020 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Staff Reporter
THERE IS now no dispute over the leadership of the 81-year-old People’s National Party (PNP), declared Mark Golding, the St Andrew South member of parliament, who, along with 14 of his parliamentary colleagues, signed a letter recently demanding a meeting with Dr Peter Phillips to discuss the future of the party.
Yesterday, Golding, a business partner and key backer of the failed leadership challenge mounted last year by Manchester Central MP Peter Bunting, emerged with a voice of unity from a meeting with Phillips and the hierarchy of the party at The Mico University College in Kingston.
The “leadership issue is settled … so we are all behind the leader,” Golding told journalists yesterday evening.
He said the letter was never about removing Phillips as leader of the Opposition. He accused unnamed persons of spinning the contents of the letter to “create more heat than light, but we are now ready to restore the light and turn down the heat”.
Bunting and his erstwhile campaign attack dog Dr Dayton Campbell, signatories of the letter, were absent, but general secretary of the party, Julian Robinson, told The Gleaner that five of the MPs who signed the missive tendered apologies for their absence.
There has been tension and unease among the ranks of Comrades ever since Bunting challenged Phillips for the leadership of the party in September 2019. Phillips had defeated Bunting by 76 votes, or a margin of less than three per cent, in one of the closest presidential races.
Discussing the party’s chances in the next general election, Golding said that members of the political organisation have been engaged in constructive dialogue with a view to coming out victorious at the end of the polls.
“What we are seeking and what we are getting is good dialogue around what it is going to take to win. We want to win, we believe we should win, and we can win. The dialogue that we now have is going to ensure that we win,” Golding insisted.
What does winning look like for Golding? The first-time MP said it would take a solid organisation on the ground, motivated party workers, and candidates with a strong, compelling message.
Commenting on the outcome of yesterday’s talks, Robinson said: “I thought we had an excellent meeting today (Monday) with interventions from some of the persons who wrote the letter, and they spoke frankly.
According to Robinson, some members who signed the letter spoke about the need for unity within the PNP and for the party to come together as it prepares for elections.
“We have put in place candidates very early and we have put in place plans in those seats. We are working towards a specific approach and strategy,” Robinson said.
“We are working on improving our communications and rolling out a communications plan.”
Asked to elaborate on the party’s strategy, the general secretary said that everything would depend on a date for the polls. He observed that the traditional approach of mass meetings and motorcades might not be possible.
“You have to look at non-traditional ways in which you can mobilise your supporters and reach out to the uncommitted voters and that’s something that we are obviously looking at and working on and refining as we go forward,” Robinson added.
Robinson also reported that Phillips assured the party that he was in good health and that since his surgery to remove cancer, he has undergone treatment and was in good condition to lead the party to victory.
Other signatories to the letter who attended yesterday’s meeting included Ronald Thwaites, Dr Fenton Ferguson, and Dr Angela Brown Burke.