CHRISTIANA, Manchester — With a rift brewing in Audley Shaw’s Manchester North Eastern constituency about his likely successor, a member of the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Central Executive is imploring the political organisation to listen to the people in determining who will contest the next parliamentary election in the constituency

Collin Virgo touched on the hot topic during Sunday’s Manchester North Eastern constituency conference, amid suggestions a day earlier — at the funeral service for former Walderston councillor Leroy “Lizzy” Mitchell — of two aspirants wanting to replace Shaw.

“I heard some good talk at Lizzy funeral yesterday and all I going to say is [Alexander] Bustamante used to say, ‘Give the people who they want.’ Let me say it again, because me nuh walk and talk behind nobody back, and although every time me talk me get inna trouble, me used to it. Give the people who they want,” said Virgo.

“Because Bustamante said if you give the people who they want, they will even thief for you to win, but if you give them who they don’t want… you going to lose it,” added Virgo.

Hidran McKulsky, an educator and principal of Holmwood Technical, and Councillor Omar Miller (Craighead Division), have both expressed interest in replacing Shaw. The long-standing, three-decade MP on Sunday, at the conference, endorsed Miller to be his successor. However McKulsky, who did not attend the conference, said he is “not deterred” by Shaw’s endorsement of Miller.

McKulsky was unsuccessful in his bid in contesting the February 2016 parliamentary election in Manchester Southern on a JLP ticket as he lost by 1,176 votes to another educator, Michael Stewart of the PNP.

Virgo, who spoke before Shaw’s endorsement of Miller, pointed to the relationship between Shaw and councillors over the years.

“Your Member of Parliament is one of those MPs who has always worked very hard and very well with his councillors, and him build them up. In some seats, enuh, MP and councillor don’t walk on the same side of the road; they don’t even talk to one another,” he said.

“But if is one thing with ‘Man a Yaad’, [he] has always looked after his councillors — and even the other councillors from Manchester that are not from his constituency,” added Virgo.

Manchester North Eastern, which consists of three divisions — Christiana, Walderston and Craighead — is being eyed by the People’s National Party (PNP) as a seat it can take from the JLP. Its representative is Valenton Wint.

Wint has thrice contested parliamentary elections on behalf of the PNP. He lost each time. He was defeated by Shaw in Manchester North Eastern in 2011 and 2016, and by Zavia Mayne (JLP) in St Ann South Western in 2020.

Miller, who is also a minority leader in the PNP-controlled Manchester Municipal Corporation, is the only member of the JLP who won his division in the constituency in the February 2024 Local Government Election.

Virgo told JLP supporters to learn from their mistake.

“So Labourites, I don’t want unuh fi tek what we have for granted. Don’t make the mistake again, because see some of unuh a learn the hard way now when unuh see the other people there now and dem a give fi dem bushing work [and] drain-cleaning work. Dem a give dem back-to-school assistance [and] road… None of we in here cyah go to them, because dem did gwaan like dem was your friend before the election but after dem win, a only dem PNP people dem business bout. Tek sleep and mark death,” said Virgo.