KINGSTON, Jamaica – Young Jamaica, the youth arm of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), says it is appalled at comments made by Opposition Leader Mark Golding, who on Tuesday questioned the independence of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Juliet Holness, who is the wife of Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

“Not only did his overall presentation fall woefully short of the standard expected of an opposition leader but it was also repugnant that Golding chose to use the platform of the national budget debates to levy unfounded and disparaging criticisms against the elevation of …Juliet Holness to the role of Speaker of the House of Representatives,” said Young Jamaica in a statement on Wednesday.

Golding, during his contribution to the Budget Debate on Thursday, accused the Jamaica Labour Party Government of lacking in accountability and transparency.

He also said the appointment of Juliet Holness, the Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural to the position of speaker, was bad practice, lacking in independence. He also noted that the speaker whom she replaced, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, received a scathing report from the Integrity Commission. She was cited by the Commission for not declaring a high-end motor vehicle in her statutory declarations for several years.

“The head of Parliament (Juliet Holness) is now the spouse of the head of Government. This really does not sit well with the tradition that the Speaker must act independently of the Government of the day, Golding stated.

“The speaker is intended to be independent and must act independent of the government of the day; that is the tradition, he insisted, while he was being shouted down by Government MPs who took offence to his remarks. They then walked out of the chamber en masse, led by the prime minister.

In its statement, Young Jamaica pointed out that on September 26, 2023, the nomination of Mrs Holness was endorsed by the PNP’s Leader of Opposition Business in the House, Phillip Paulwell.

“Furthermore, in her own right, Mrs Holness has not only served as an elected Member of Parliament since 2016, but has also served as Deputy Speaker for four years prior to her appointment as Speaker of the House. In all roles, she has consistently demonstrated impartiality, hard work and integrity”.

“Therefore, the remarks made by Mark Golding represent a misogynistic and hypocritical attack on Mrs Holness. Golding’s baseless accusations perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes and undermine women’s abilities based on irrelevant factors,” the JLP affiliate added.

According to Young Jamaica’s legal advisor, Jhenelle Small, “What is misogynistic is the illogical assumption that, due to her marital status, she is rendered incapable of being impartial and effectively carrying out her assigned duties. Secondly, the reference to her simply as a wife rather than an elected MP shows that Golding has little to no respect for women in their earned roles”.

Young Jamaica is urging the House to sanction Golding for what it said is his violation of the Standing Orders “by making unfounded insinuations about another member of the House”.

It said the public should see his statements as incendiary, aimed at furthering the PNP’s narrow political agenda.