“When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” This is a famous proverb, also known as the Law of Holes. It means you should stop taking actions that make your already very bad situation worse.

In Britain this proverb is commonly called the Denis Healey Rule. Mr Healey was one of the best prime ministers Britain never had. He did not achieve the highest elected office in Britain, but he has gone down in history as one of the biggest and most memorable figures in post-war British politics.

Healey was a genuine political and intellectual heavyweight. Whenever Britain was heading south economically, socially, or politically, Healey would famously advise, “When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” For reasons that I have detailed in this space previously, I don’t admire many figures on the political left, but Denis Healey is one of my exceptions. Healey served in many capacities, most notably as secretary of state for defence (1964–1970) and chancellor of the exchequer (1974–1979). He died in 2015 at the age of 98. He left his country better than he found it. He was a colossus.

Wrong and Strong!

“Higgins, what does all this have to do with local politics?”, some may genuinely or absent-mindedly ask.

The People’s National Party (PNP) is the fraternal twin of the British Labour Party. Previously I noted here that the initial constitution of the PNP, when it was founded in September 1938, was a facsimile of the British Labour Party’s. Those who may want to contest this fact can consult the wise counsel of people like former general secretary of the PNP and former Education Minister (one of Jamaica’s best) Maxine Henry-Wilson. She confirmed in a radio interview some years ago that the PNP’s constitution was basically a copy of the British Labour Party’s.

The PNP, over many decades, has copied many of the policies and branding ideas of the UK’s Labour Party, a socialist party. Some time ago, I explained here, for example, that “The admirable and necessary social reforms of Prime Minister Michael Manley in the 1970s were almost a facsimile of the reforms set out in the Beveridge [produced in the UK] report published in 1942.”

The PNP is no stranger to copying. This is not a black mark. “He who comes up with a good idea is not as important as its successful implementation,” someone said a long time ago. I totally agree.

Sadly, in recent times the PNP, under the leadership of Mark Golding, has, among other things, been copying some of the best bad ideas from near and far. I have said here repeatedly that this is a great harbinger. I have said here continually that all well-thinking Jamaicans who have the knowledge have a duty to warn the country of the great threat that Mr Golding’s best bad ideas pose to the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Jamaicans in particular.

I have also argued here that it is imperative that we further tighten the guard rails so that those who see Jamaica and her resources as an opportunity to pillage and then flee, and those who are tempted to manage national affairs with callous disregard and gross incompetence, will not be able to do so.

MANLEY… evidently knew when certain political approaches no longer made sense

However, holding public and other officials to the sanitising heat of sunlight does not mean that the Opposition and its confederates must oppose everything, everywhere and every time.

It is evident — maybe except to those who are conveniently blind — that the PNP is trapped in a great hole. I have been saying so here and on radio for some time. “Wrong and strong” is evidently the new mantra of 89 Old Hope. I detailed instances of this political kamikaze tactic in this space previously. The PNP continues to foolishly dig itself into a deeper hole. It’s like the party has a death wish!

Mark Golding told this newspaper that he was a socialist. He often channels former Prime Minister Michael Manley, the PNP president who is most revered by Comrades and hundreds of other Jamaicans. Golding seems not to understand that Mr Manley — perhaps the most foremost proponent of socialism in the Caribbean and Latin America — had a political Damascus experience.

By the time Manley and the PNP defeated Edward Seaga and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the February 1989 General Election, Manley had discarded the Kariba suit, the uncompromising rhetoric about controlling the commanding heights of the economy, and the promise of walking hand-in-hand with Cuba’s communist leader Fidel Castro.

Manley evidently knew when certain political approaches no longer made sense. Upon that realisation — reluctant or otherwise — he had the smarts and the ability to pivot and rebrand. I see absolutely no evidence to date that Mark Golding possesses those skills.

Golding seems stuck in a time warp. He does not get it that Jamaica today is not the Jamaica of the 1970s, 80s, or early 90s — when only a few privileged people owned or controlled the levers of the media. It bears repeating that some among us are mightily upset that they no longer control those levers, which formerly enabled them to determine what the majority thought and how often.

There are some among us who fervently believe that the Taínos bequeathed Jamaica to them and that they are entitled to “run things”. They had better get it into their heads that those days are over. Given the maturing of local politics, Golding’s snare will only continue to guarantee defeat. Confederates in civil society cannot help the PNP win. The PNP needs to understand that importing far-right-ism (wrong and strong) to Jamaica will not help it win either.

HEALEY… a genuine political and intellectual heavyweight

Own Goal

Among other things in a functioning democracy, elected and selected political leaders especially, must constantly remind themselves that they are fallible. The admission of mistakes, coupled with credible follow-up actions that prove lessons have been learned, are critical benchmarks. All who buy and sell in the arena of a functioning democracy must grasp and practise these principles.

These critical tenets are not understood by Mark Golding, as I see it. The sordid scandal of the leaked voice note involving one elected PNP official and another high-ranking member of the PNP was a big opportunity for Golding to demonstrate to the Jamaican people that he was ready to assume the important role of prime minister after nearly six years of non-stop auditioning. Golding instead bungled the opportunity and flung the PNP into a deeper hole. His sloganeering of accountability, transparency, and integrity was always on life support. It is now as dead as nit, as we say locally.

The next time Golding opens his mouth and shouts that slogan, he should be laughed out of town.

Spot on

The Jamaica Observer editorial of Sunday, July 26, 2026, was spot when it noted that, “At a time when Jamaicans are struggling to recover from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Melissa, the discussion was not about strengthening national recovery or placing country above party. Instead, it centred on delaying and undermining the work of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) for perceived political advantage.

“Such conduct, if accurately represented, exposes the ugly underbelly of Jamaican politics — a culture in which partisan ambition is allowed to eclipse the national interest.

“There can be no justification for frustrating or obstructing an initiative designed to bring relief to citizens who have lost homes and livelihoods. The victims of Hurricane Melissa deserve compassion and urgency, not political gamesmanship.

“Equally disturbing is the reported discussion concerning NaRRA Chief Executive Officer Major General Antony Anderson. According to the voice notes, one participant reportedly acknowledged that General Anderson would be difficult to portray as corrupt because of his sterling record of public service. Yet, despite that concession, the conversation turned to strategies aimed at damaging his reputation. That should alarm every Jamaican.”

For many months in this space I have been warning about an extremely dangerous and corrosive politics like that exposed in the mentioned voice note. In my The Agenda column of June 21, 2026, entitled ‘Traitors in plain sight,’ I said, among other things, “We have traitors among us. These are menacing individuals working with evil determination to bring Jamaica to her knees. They are treacherous men and women who are prepared to see this country reduced to ashes, provided they can rule as kings over the rubble. Their only loyalty is to themselves and their cronies. They are exceedingly dangerous.”

I am not surprised at the frighteningly un-Jamaican contents of the voice note. It is part and parcel of this sordid doctrine: “We believe that it is best for the PNP to form the Government; therefore, anything that will lead or cause us to be in power is best for the PNP and best for the country.” PNP Chairman Robert Pickersgill said this on radio in the 1990s.

The PNP has had more than 30 years to distance itself from this rotten dictum. It has not done so. This must terrify all well-thinking Jamaicans. Politics cannot mean that winning by any means necessary is perfectly acceptable.

GOLDING… bungled the opportunity provided by the leaked voice note to demonstrate to Jamaicans that he was ready to assume the important role of prime minister and flung the PNP into a deeper hole

In the mentioned column of June 21, 2026, I noted that, “Some of these traitors wear well-tailored suits. Some use flowery language. Some are well-credentialled. Some hold high positions in the Church and civic organisations. And, among other things, some masquerade as leaders of civil society.

The traitors I am talking about are not in hiding. They are easy to see for anyone looking. There is a characteristic sameness about them. Many are minstrels of ambiguity. Some are loyalists with little technical knowledge. Some invariably suffer from acute fact-aversion and fact-resistance. They are skilled in obstructions and sloganeering. Many are very adept in the precipitous and murky dark arts of drive-by shootings of people’s reputations. They are adroit in the business of intellectual bouquet-swapping.

Some present themselves as exemplars of moral rectitude. And some are trapped in a time warp. These behave as if they have not yet received the memo that they no longer have a monopoly on what ordinary Jamaicans, especially, think and how often we think it.” I have been proved right!

Running up the clock, meaning endless delay after delay until kingdom come, is one of the severely injurious tactics that are increasing the suffering of thousands of Jamaicans. I previously detailed here how the life chances of Jamaicans are being rapidly diminished by people who, among other things, believe they are the greatest in the kingdom. These people don’t help to build Jamaica; they cripple Jamaica at every opportunity. These are scoundrels!

Golding should stop channeling Michael Manley. Manley would not have waited six days before responding to the frighteningly un-Jamaican voice note. Manley would have promptly dismissed the guilty individuals from the PNP’s inner sanctum.

Neither left nor right

Is Mark Golding a leftie as he says he is? His actions, to me, don’t match those of any consequential leftie. Certainly, Golding’s actions don’t match those of significant leftists like Tony Blair, who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. Neither do Golding’s actions match those of Aneurin Bevan, a Welsh Labour Party politician noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service (NHS) during his tenure as minister of health in Clement Attlee’s Government. Like Denis Healey, he was a colossus.

Golding’s brand of politics is an unsafe concoction. It will not be swallowed by a critical mass. We are wiser than we were decades ago. There is a critical mass that will not be hoodwinked and bamboozled by a politics which debilitates. In that respect, I invite readers to read Fools, Frauds and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left by Sir Roger Scruton.

Garfield Higgins is an educator and journalist. Send comments to the Observer or higgins160@yahoo.com

Garfield Higgins