The idea of third parties and independent forces are not new in our political landscape. An exploration into the history and circumstances of the first election of 1944: the Independent candidates and the minority parties. History tells us that there are preconditions to change; that political parties were formed after the pre-1938 agitations that set the foundations for change; and that political parties have not been the agents of change. So, it is not just about the failure of third parties, it is the failure to develop the preconditions that will lay the foundations for change, and as such experiment with Independent candidates as the way is prepared for new political organisations. The general elections of 1944 provide an interesting lesson regarding this development.

On August 4, children’s advocate Mrs Betty Anne Blaine launched her New Nation Party at the Wyndham Hotel in New Kingston. Both newspapers covered the event with equal interest. The papers’ responses vary from giving best wishes, to seizing the opportunity to understand our democracy at this time; and that the role of the NNP can be seen in the context of civil society groups. One writer argues on the critical role of civil society groups and that they “represent the real force of our nationalism”, if we take civil society to mean those groups and organisations outside the status quo. For example, from the late 19th century many secular groups began to develop in Jamaica to fight for change.

The emerging groups and mass organisations and their leaders are described as the “masters of the dew” – those who helped to galvanise the moments that put together a national society in plantation Jamaica. The dominant political parties benefited from the role of these groups. The point I am making is that the citizens’ associations, the farmers’ groups, the literary associations, “race groups”, newly formed union groups and political education groups – among the many groups in this process – were the masters of the dew. These groups and individuals were like the planters who tilled the soil and prepared it for sowing new seeds. Further to this they provide the “moisture” and the “nutrients” to develop and sustain the growing plants. It must have been a monumental achievement to move from a colonial or planter entity to a national society.

These groups and organisations retreated as the dominant political organisations emerged and developed. The PNP was formed out of the National Reform Association and the Jamaica Progressive League, among other groups. The JLP was formed out of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union in 1942. With the development of a trade union to support the PNP – the Trade Union Congress – they began a dual rivalry for workers to increase union leadership political rivalry over turf and votes. Political tribalism took root. Slowly, the mass-based groups were either absorbed into the dominant parties or suffered a natural death. What is important to note is that agitation, that preparation to the soil upon which change would emerge. The role of “mass organisation and groups” prior to 1938 are useful lessons to understand the context of the two major parties and the later role of the constitution in imposing the dominant two-party system.

The 1944 election period saw the emergence of the Jamaica Democratic Party, the party of the planter and related class. This party ran in several parishes but never made any real impact. There was also the Other P party – this party was comprised of some of the founding fathers of the modern trade union movement in Jamaica. There were about 120 candidates in the 1944 elections, with 62 independent candidates and five for the Other P. Independents were as much as nearly 50 per cent of the total candidates. Interestingly, the PNP did not field candidates in 11 constituencies. The heart of the PNP’s organisation was its group structure and where it had none or little it did not compete. The heart of the JLP’s organisation was the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union that was widespread nationally. These two organisations and many independent candidates had the capacity to organise and deliver votes. Some of the independent candidates may have been linked to “mass organisations” such as the citizens’ associations.

Parishes such as Clarendon, St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Portland, Hanover and Trelawny were described as fiercely independent.

The results of the 1944 elections were also instructive: the JLP had 19 seats; the PNP 6 and Independents 7. The lesson shows clearly the role of the proto-nationalist groups and other lobby and interest groups playing the role of the “masters of the dew” in creating the conditions for change. Probably what people in Jamaica want to see and hear are those “masters of the dew” that will create the awareness and the structures to stimulate change, and not just for a political party, but for the entire Jamaican society. After 66 years since self-government and 48 years of Independence, we need to return to the source for those lessons to guide a new moment in the movement for change. My advice to Mrs Blaine is that the Bible as ideology was good for the early 1930s but it will not work as the basis for leading change in the 21st-century world.

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