Dear Editor,

On the night of February 25, 2016 I was shocked to learn that the People’s National Party (PNP) had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Seasoned Labourites will extol the virtues of on-the-ground communication by a young, attractive, and relatable party leader. I, at the time, was not convinced.

Despite the narrowest of victories (32–31), there was a peaceful transfer of executive authority from Portia Simpson Miller’s PNP to Andrew Holness’s Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). It was a hard-fought campaign, but at Holness’s swearing-in, he and Simpson Miller ‘kissed and made up’, and parliamentary sittings were in large part conducted with a level of decency, stateliness, and decorum befitting such occasions.

Those days are over.

Ironically, it has been one year to the date since I began telling people that we, as a nation, would be sorry we ever gave this current crop of PNP politicians even a whiff of power. Going into the September 3, 2025 election, they had 14 seats. Of course, any Opposition aims to increase its seat count such that it forms Government, but that was not to be. To his credit, Opposition Leader Golding managed to double their seat count, despite losing the election. But what have they done with this increase in numbers? Nothing good.

Ever since Parliament reconvened last year, it has become unwatchable. Rarely do we see any serious, considered interventions by PNP members. Instead, we are treated to weekly grandstanding, shouting matches, and unruly behaviour. They hurl invectives toward Government members, disparage and disobey the Speaker, interfere with the mace, and the list goes on. Inside or outside the chamber, nothing is sacred and no one is safe.

When we see Mikael Phillips shoving Mark Golding, his own party leader, as he charged toward Desmond McKenzie, we should not be surprised. This is just the end of the slippery slope I warned people about on November 4, 2025. I cannot say what his intentions were as Phillips sought to get at McKenzie, but I doubt an invitation for a cup of tea was on the cards.

It is clear to me that this iteration of the PNP is a rudderless ship, adrift on the political seas with the wind pushing them in every direction. They are in a mighty hurry to go nowhere.

Oyeton Clarke

oyetonclarke@gmail.com