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(CNS): Joey Hew told party loyalists at the Progressive Party’s national committee meeting over the weekend that he does not intend to “rely too much” on the position of opposition leader as he believes his party will return to government after next year’s general election. Although Hew, who represents Georgetown North, was “appointed” by the party leadership on Saturday night, he is expected to be elected as the official leader at the party convention in January.
In his speech, Hew said he would bring “stable government and … cooperation rather than conflict,” before telling his own story and why he believes he can assume the country’s highest political office. After criticizing the current UPM government, Hew made a number of broad policy promises but did not go into detail, particularly how the party plans to “prioritize environmental management without stopping development,” an issue many believe caused the Progressive Party to lose support in the 2021 general election.
“There is much more to do and I am determined to get started,” Hew told Progressives members. “We must win the election next April to turn this vision into reality.”
The confidence of the new PP leader was buoyed by what the party said were early opinion polls that were in its favor. The PP said a poll it funded of 700 local registered voters found that 56 percent of respondents preferred a party candidate as MP, while only 20 percent preferred an independent.
However, despite continued criticism of the current UPM government, the voter sample still gave it an overall approval rating of 53%. This, combined with the first-past-the-post system, means that electing enough Progressive Party candidates to form a government remains a difficult task.
But the Progressive Party also said the poll found that among those voters who had already decided who to vote for, 61% said they would support the Progressive Party candidate, while 39% said they would support other candidates. The poll found that voters in most age groups preferred the PPM candidate. Surveying voter intentions in different age groups found that people in all age groups, except the youngest voters in the 18-24 age group, preferred the Progressive Party.
The party promised to field PPM candidates in all 19 constituencies, rather than making way for independents who might be more supportive of the PPM government, as it had done in the past.
It is not yet clear which member of the current PPM team will step down at the next election. Although Roy McTaggart has handed over the leadership to Hew, he has indicated that he will stand for election to retain his seat in GTE. Sir Alden McLaughlin (RED) and Moses Kirkconnell (CBW&LC) have both expressed their intention to retire, but neither has officially confirmed this.
In his speech handing power to Hugh, McTaggart said that, according to opinion polls, although the party may be looking for another 15 candidates to run under the PPM name, “the way forward has a solid foundation.” McTaggart said that “PACT’s attempt to bring together a dozen so-called independents in the hope of forming a coherent, united, capable government has failed.”
The outgoing leader said the current government’s “chaotic style of governance has failed to bring the progress our country deserves”.
See the speeches by Hugh and McTaggart and details of the voting poll CNS Library.
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