The fallout from last week’s dramatic mace confrontation in Parliament escalated on Tuesday as House Speaker Juliet Holness accused Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Angela Brown Burke of repeatedly challenging the authority of the Chair, revealing that the St Andrew South Western representative had previously disrupted proceedings during another tense sitting earlier this year.

But Brown Burke, speaking with the Jamaica Observer hours later, insisted the confrontations did not emerge in isolation, arguing instead that mounting frustration over what she described as repeated efforts to silence and ignore Opposition members inside the chamber had pushed tensions in Gordon House to a boiling point.

Opening Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, Holness delivered a lengthy statement defending parliamentary discipline and warning lawmakers that disorder and defiance would not be allowed to undermine the authority of Parliament following the explosive scenes that unfolded during debate on the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Bill last week.

Holness disclosed that Brown Burke had previously disrupted proceedings during a March 5 sitting when she “rose from her seat and boisterously declared, ‘Yuh waan mi fi behave like a virago? Mi a go behave like a virago.’

“This was not the first occasion on which conduct of this nature has tested the authority of the Chair by the same member,” the Speaker said.

“Restraint was exercised in the hope that the matter would not be repeated. But restraint must never be mistaken for permission, patience must never be mistaken for weakness, and silence must never be mistaken for acceptance,” she added.

The remarks came days after Brown Burke was named and suspended from Parliament after grabbing the ceremonial mace during heated committee-stage debate on the NaRRA Bill, triggering chaotic scenes inside the chamber and forcing a temporary suspension of proceedings.

However, when speaking with the Observer following Tuesday’s sitting, Brown Burke strongly rejected the Speaker’s characterisation of events and accused Holness of repeatedly silencing Opposition members during parliamentary debates.

“We haven’t made the case to the Jamaican people. We have sat quietly, we have protested inside of the House, we have spoken to the Speaker, we have spoken to others about the attitude in the House, which prevents individuals on the Opposition side from actually participating in the discussions and in the debate,” Brown Burke said.

The Opposition MP claimed that standing orders were being applied inconsistently and argued that Opposition members were frequently denied opportunities to participate.

“What someone on the Government side will get away with, we won’t,” Brown Burke said, while also accusing the Speaker of behaving in a partisan manner.

She further alleged that the parliamentary microphone system had been “weaponised” against Opposition members by muting them or preventing them from speaking on the official record.

Brown Burke said tensions escalated during last Tuesday’s NaRRA debate after she repeatedly attempted to intervene in proceedings but was allegedly ignored by the Chair.

“On three different occasions I wanted to make a statement to intervene in the discussion… The Speaker looked at me and just turned her head and looked to the other side,” she claimed.

The St Andrew South Western MP admitted that her interaction with the mace breached parliamentary rules, but maintained that it was an act of protest against what she described as persistent disrespect towards Opposition members.

“And so I got up. And, as I put it, I interfaced with the mace. And we know what the standing order says. I’m not pretending that it is sanctioned by the standing orders. Not at all. But it was because of that pushing, that ignoring, that disrespectful behaviour of the Speaker, time and time again,” Brown Burke said.

She also pushed back against Holness’s account of the earlier “virago” incident, insisting that her remarks had been misrepresented.

“I said, ‘Do I have to behave like a virago for me to be heard?’ That was what I said, and I thought that was an appropriate question. Because I don’t believe that I should have to behave like a virago to be heard,” Brown Burke told the Observer.

In her statement to Parliament, Holness argued that the issue extended beyond one member’s conduct and represented a broader challenge to parliamentary authority and order.

“The mace is not a decoration. It is not a prop. It is not an object to be used in protest. It is the symbol of the authority of this House,” the Speaker declared.

She also criticised the conduct of Opposition members following Brown Burke’s suspension, stating that the leader of the Opposition and other MPs engaged in “a standing protest and chants” in defiance of the authority of the Chair.

Holness additionally revealed that she had previously ignored what she described as “derogatory
sotto voce references, slurs, and disrespectful posturing” from a few Opposition members in an effort to continue the business of the House without further conflict.

Despite the escalating tensions, both women suggested that broader reflection was needed on the tone and conduct inside Parliament.

“Order is not the enemy of democracy. Order is what makes democracy possible,” Holness told lawmakers.

Brown Burke, meanwhile, said she hoped the controversy would force Parliament to reassess how members interact with each other.

“Let’s draw a line. Let’s determine how we interface with each other. But let us stop the hypocrisy,” she said.

House Speaker Juliet Holness enters the chamber as the Marshal proceeds ahead of her with the mace to open a session of the Parliament.