Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Thursday described his wife, House Speaker Juliet Holness, as an “independent” and “self-made woman”, a seemingly indirect address to the criticism of Mrs Holness that led to the walkout of the House of Representatives by Government Members of Parliament on Tuesday.

He gave the shout-out to his wife during his opening remarks of his contribution to the 2024/25 Budget Debate, during which he also welcomed his mother who was present in the galley.

“I want to thank my family for their love and support, particularly Juliet, an independent woman, a self-made woman who has achieved all that she has in her own right,” Holness said.

On Tuesday, during his contribution to the Budget Debate, Opposition Leader Mark Golding earned the ire of government MPs after he criticised the appointment of the Speaker, who is the Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural, as bad practice.

READ: Gov’t MPs walk out on Golding after criticism of Juliet Holness’ Speaker appointment

Said Golding: “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.

“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 and walked out of the chamber en mass, led by the prime minister.