KINGSTON, Jamaica – Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke used nearly 10 minutes of his closing Budget presentation on Tuesday to lash Opposition Leader Mark Golding over his criticism the previous week, of the independence of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Juliet Holness.

Holness, the two-term Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural, is the wife of Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Golding drew the ire of Government members last Tuesday during his contribution to the Budget Debate when he stated that it was bad practice for the head of the Parliament (the speaker) to be the spouse of the head of Government (the prime minster). The prime minister accused Golding of being “low and desperate” before walking out of the chamber with all government members in tow.

The move truncated Golding’s speech as the Opposition lacked the required quorum of 16 members plus the speaker in order for the sitting to continue. Golding finished his presentation on the sidewalk in front of the old parliamentary building which is next door to Gordon House.

On Tuesday, Clarke stated that “When the leader of the opposition made his contribution to the Budget Debate, he included the words ‘when the former Speaker (Marissa Dalrymple-Philibert) was forced to resign as a result of the Integrity Commission investigation, the move to replace her with the wife of the prime minister so that the head of parliament is now the spouse of the head of government, does not sit well with the tradition that the speaker must act independently of the government of the day’”.

“As others have pointed out, we on this (the government) side, and there are others on the outside, who thought that that was low,” added Clarke. He pointed out that Mrs Holness served as deputy speaker for three years, during which time she acted as speaker on occasion.

“So it was the deputy speaker who was elected to replace the outgoing speaker, not simply the wife,” said a still visibly upset Clarke.

Looking at Golding seated across the aisle from him, Clarke said “The fact that in the speech you referred to her as ‘the wife’, not recognising her three-year tenure as deputy speaker and therefore the natural successor, is in my view disrespectful to the highest degree”.

Clarke told the speaker who was presiding that “Women like men, are individuals in their own right who ought not to be defined by their relationships…” He insisted that “it does not sit well to talk about the speaker’s relationship with her husband”.

“By all means, talk about the speaker’s decisions, criticise them if you must, but leave the wife alone. It was out of order and the opposition leader can do better,” Clarke remarked.

The finance minister reminded that when Ann-marie Vaz, the wife of fellow MP and government minister Daryl Vaz was campaigning for the Portland Eastern seat in 2019, she was referred to, in a derogatory way, as the wife of Mr Vaz. “And that she won’t be anything but the wife of Mr Vaz”.

Clarke accused the PNP of having a pattern of disrespecting women.

“It would have been better had the opposition leader said, ‘the move to replace her with the deputy speaker of the House, who happens to be the wife of the prime minister, etc., etc., etc. But completely ignoring her position in this House was reducing her to only one component; that of wife, was disrespectful and should not be repeated,” said Clarke.