IT appeared clear yesterday that many Labourites believed that Edward Seaga would keep his word and stay away from the party’s 61st annual conference. Some were prepared to move on, to usher in a new era.

So Seaga’s successor Bruce Golding arrived with his wife Lorna and son, Stephen, the trio accompanied by Denise Eldemire-Shearer, the widow of the party’s late leader Hugh Lawson Shearer.

There was no sign of Seaga when Golding, long seen as his heir apparent, said: “Welcome to destiny,” as he entered the National Arena to the strains of Buju Banton’s popular hit song, Destiny.

And it was clear, from mid-morning, where Golding’s support lay.

During the roll call of delegates, he got thunderous support from Area Council One, which is chaired by Kingston’s mayor Desmond McKenzie – another of Seaga’s protégés.

The West Kingston delegates, represented by Seaga for more than four decades, were also out in their numbers with shirts that proclaimed “West Kingston supports Bruce” – his image emblazoned on the front.

As promised, unity was the overriding theme for the day. Once re-elected unopposed during nominations conducted by general secretary Karl Samuda, the four deputy leaders – James Robertson, Horace Chang, Audley Shaw and Derrick Smith – were returned en bloc.

As they took their turns at the podium, all four stuck to the theme – unity within the party and the ineptitude of the government.

Smith, who is also the party’s spokesman on national security, took on the issue of crime.

“Thirteen thousand six hundred and eighty-one Jamaicans have been murdered in the 16 years since the PNP is in power. That is like killing an entire constituency,” he said.

A ripple went through the crowd as the reality behind the numbers hit home.

Audley Shaw, best known for his exposure of government scandals, spoke of the PNP administration’s embarrassing attempts to fix the hobbling fire service. “Half of St Elizabeth burning down and no fire service to put it out,” he said, referring to bushfires that have razed hundreds of acres there over the past week.

Horace Chang, who appeared unfettered by the assault charge hanging over his head after he pulled his gun during a fracas with Labourites in South St Elizabeth, said the party had entered a new era, under new leadership.

James Robertson, who spoke briefly, also highlighted what he described as the government’s woeful performance, and vowed that the JLP would be victorious in the next general election.

Meanwhile, hundreds gathered outside the Arena, some gambling while others paraded in what sometimes looked like their body weight in jewellery. From the looks of the car park, some Labourites had arrived at the venue in style, in high-end vehicles such as the BMW X-5 series, Mercedes Benzes, and expensive motor bikes.

The less splashy arrived in moderately-priced cars, executive buses as well as those chartered from the Jamaica Urban Transit Company.

Labourites had come out in their thousands, and the message on many of their T-shirts was loud and clear. It was “full time now”; Bruce was “the people’s choice”.

“Justice, Liberty and Progress”, the ideals around which the JLP was formed, screamed from banners all around the arena and from a huge rectangular board directly behind the stage.

There was a spectacular lighting system, with more than a 100 light bulbs of varying diameters and colours. Four bags containing hundreds of balloons hung from the ceiling and were released when the new leader completed his maiden speech.