Political campaigning for the 2015 general election in Anguilla has now begun to take-off, in reality, with a series of public meetings, although house-to-house electioneering is a constant but undercover activity.
Two months ago, on Sunday, March 2, the Dove Party, led by Mr Sutcliffe Hodge, announced four candidates and called for “a new leadership vision”. Now, the Anguilla United Front (AUF), led by former Finance Minister, Mr Victor Banks, launched its campaign on Saturday, April 26, announcing candidates for all seven constituencies. Banks, speaking on behalf of his colleagues pledged: “We intend to be your Government”. Next Saturday May 3, the ruling Anguilla United Movement, led by Chief Minister, Mr Hubert Hughes, will announce its slate of seven candidates as well, at the launch of its re-election campaign at Island Harbour.
The AUF meeting, referred to above, was held in a formally-dressed setting outside English Rose Restaurant, with police blockades on the main road to facilitate the event which took up a considerable area of the road space. The meeting, chaired by Mr Terry Harrigan, of Island Harbour, attracted a large crowd mainly on the adjoining grounds of the Scouts and Guides Ruthwill Auditorium.
The speakers, in order of their presentations, were Mr Delsic Rey (Road North); Mr Cardigan Connor (West End); Mr Othlyn Vanterpool (Island Harbour); Mrs Cora Richardson-Hodge (Sandy Hill); Mr Curtis Richardson (Road South); Mr Evans McNiel Rogers (Valley North); and party leader, Mr Victor Banks (Valley South). All of the candidates delivered addresses in which they outlined their party’s positions on a number of issues, and spoke about their high regard for, and confidence in, the leadership of Mr Banks; and of their support and expectation for him to become the next Chief Minister of Anguilla.
Mr Delsic Rey, who unsuccessfully contested the District 5 seat in 2010, stressed his belief that “the Anguilla United Front is the best party to lead us out of these dark days of recession and mismanagement and into the days of light and prosperity.” He went on: “The AUF is led by a dedicated citizen who has faithfully spent the better part of his life in public service for all of us. He has a proven record of solid management skills without noise or confusion – a leadership style of calm, rational and strong negotiating skills earned from the testing of experience. He has the intellectual ability to grasp all – not some – of the complex issues facing a small community…Mr Victor Franklin Banks is without doubt the most qualified person in this regard on the political stage today. He is more than able to lead Anguilla for the next five years. With your support, the AUF will ensure that he will be our next Chief Minister.”
Mr Rey emphasised one of the main intentions of the AUF. “We are committed to a single vision to build a new Anguilla, proud, strong and free…Our team brings unity – unity of purpose, unity of vision, unity of commitment to country and each other, and to the task at hand.” He said the AUF’s commitment to Anguilla, and its people, would continue “with new ideas and new programmes – reaching out to strategic partners who, with us, can make this dream happen. This AUF team understands the cry of our youth – a cry which too often turns into violence and crime. We will work relentlessly to ensure that this threat to our future is suppressed – if not destroyed. We will attack this scourge with imaginative solutions, new ideas and an understanding of the root causes of these problems.” He also referred to a number of other social and economic issues which he said the AUF would address once elected to office. He added that he was “humble and proud to be a part of the AUF team”.
Mr Cardigan Connor, who placed Anguilla on the map of the cricketing world by his outstanding performance in Hampshire, England, and Australia, in earlier years, explained his entry into the political arena. He told his listeners in part: “It is the despair, the increasing signs of hopelessness and the sense of reckless abandon with which our country seems to be governed that has served to motivate me and lead me to this moment in time. My journey to this place began more than fifty years ago. Such a period of time makes me old enough to be experienced, but still young enough to have the energy to get the job done for Anguilla in general and the people of District 7 in particular.”
The one-time professional cricketer, now Cricket Development Officer, working part-time with schoolchildren in Anguilla, thanked Mr Albert Hughes, his godfather, and a former elected representative for West End, for supporting and endorsing his candidacy. “I will seek to follow in his footsteps of representing the people of District 7 and Anguilla at large,” he pledged. “In him is the humility, love for country and selfless sacrifice that every politician should exhibit. It is these virtues that ultimately brought me back home after flying Anguilla’s flag abroad.”
The well-spoken Mr Connor said that, for him, “political office creates the enabling environment in which, as part of a team, we can address the empathy deficit that exists in our country.” He continued: “I have been asked countless time, why run with the Anguilla United Front and not as an independent? As one who has spent a significant amount of life being involved with various teams, I have observed that the old saying ‘Together everyone achieves more’, has the formula for success. The positive and successful future of Anguilla and its people is the foundation upon which the Anguilla United Front is built…In the Anguilla United Front team there is sound leadership…Under the leadership of Mr Victor Banks, we have a captain with the experience and knowledge to bring hope back to Anguilla, to engender her children to dream again, and to mobilize and motivate the entire nation to move upward, onward and forward together.”
Mr Othlyn Vanterpool argued that the key to Anguilla’s success was leadership. “It is leadership that cannot be found in our AUM Administration,” he told his listeners. “The Anguilla United Front’s slate of candidates, under the leadership of Victor Franklin Banks, is undoubtedly the only option for Anguilla, especially at this time.”
Mr Vanterpool went on: “This team has knowledge, experience and, most of all, we respect you, the people of Anguilla. This team will make a difference. We made a positive difference in the past and we will do it again. The question we have to ask ourselves is: ‘Are we better off now under the Anguilla United Movement’s Administration?’ The answer to that question is clear: we are not better off now. Lots of Anguillians have been pushed below the poverty line. They are suffering silently, and that is a shame. Let us make that change that will bring prosperity back to our land.
“I urge you, fellow Anguillians, when the general election is called: vote for yourself; vote for your children; vote for your future; vote to save Anguilla; vote for the Anguilla United Front; and, with God’s help, we will secure a better future for al Anguillians.”
Mrs Cora Richardson-Hodge charged that over the current tenure of the Anguilla United Movement Government “nothing significant has happened in our country during these past four years” to benefit the people of Anguilla “who are suffering at all levels.” She went on : “I want to talk to you about how all of us can move forward out of these poor economic times; and I am going to show you that the only choice, the only team to lead us out of these poor economic conditions, is the Anguilla United Front. It is the only chance for us to fulfil the hopes and dreams of each of us as Anguillians.”
Mrs Richardson-Hodge said there was a need for a Government that would provide leadership in creating economic activity and employment for all persons; a fully-equipped health service; ensure that the island’s elders, and children, in particular, are taken care of; address the social issues facing young people such as drugs, gang violence and teenage pregnancies and the need to develop young people to be the future leaders of Anguilla. She called for children to receive a sound education by the Government investing in the education system and facilities, and the training of teachers.
She made reference to various high taxes imposed on the people of Anguilla causing many of them much suffering and “to live a hand-to-mouth life.” She emphasised: “We need a Government that would work for us to lessen the burdensome effects of the recent increases in taxation. Our team, the Anguilla United Front, is the only team that can deliver this.”
The Attorney-at-Law continued: “Fellow Anguillians, all I have mentioned to you – creating jobs, addressing social issues and a good education— are just the tip of the iceberg of changes that need to take place in Anguilla. We [the AUF] have the hope and the vision that each of us have for ourselves and for our beloved Anguilla. This is the Anguillian dream that I speak about. It is our ability, as a people, to move past these stagnant four years and create a positive future for ourselves that we can all be proud of.”
Mr Curtis Richardson spoke about what he saw as confusion relating to various issues touching the current leadership of Anguilla. Speaking about his interest in politics he said in part: “I decided to run in 2005 because I believe in my ability to bring good leadership in this country, and I also believe in the people of Road South. Even though I did not win the election in 2005, I still believe [in the people]. In 2010 I ran again and I still believe [in the people]; and I am here to tell you that this time, is unlike any other time. This time the people of Road South have decided to believe exactly what I believe; and I am going to be victorious in Road South. I still believe.”
He was of the belief that, with the AUF team, “Anguilla shall rise again” and that there was a need for a Government, like the Anguilla United Front, of which he would be part of, that “marches onwards, upwards and forward.” He added: “I pray that God would open our eyes and understanding and give us men and women to reshape and rebuild the walls of Anguilla.”
Mr Evans McNiel Rogers criticised the Anguilla United Movement Government for its failure to turn around the economy of Anguilla, as Chief Minister Hughes had promised, and pointed to a number of social and economic difficulties facing the island and its people. He said his party’s meeting was only the beginning of a long campaign, and promised his listeners that in due course they would “get a comprehensive and detailed view of the AUF’s plans for the overall development of the country in every sector”.
Mr Rogers was pleased to have Mr Banks as the leader of the AUF. “When it comes to leadership, no individual who has been involved, or is involved in politics in Anguilla, has the intellectual capacity, leadership skills and the overall knowledge with respect to governance, to take Anguilla through these difficult times than Victor Banks,” he asserted. “I work with the man so I can tell you his approach, attitude and style of governance, his ability to have civil constructive discussions and dialogue, and his negotiating skills to get things done, are of the highest quality.”
Mr Banks was grateful to his colleagues for their confidence in him. “I am extremely proud that, despite the fact that I was unsuccessful at the polls in 2010, my party has chosen me, unanimously, to be its political leader for this period,” he stated. “There is absolutely no challenge to my leadership.
“We are a united party on the basis of mutual respect and a constitution and by-laws which we have agreed to be governed under. I thank my colleagues and supporters for the trust and confidence they have placed in me. This is also a good time for me to thank the people of South Valley who supported me for twenty-five years and seven general elections. In fact, even when I was defeated they gave me more votes than I have ever gotten. I love you and I will never let you down.”
Mr Banks said that as leader of the AUF he was also very proud of his record of service both in Government and Opposition. He took the opportunity to list his various successes for Anguilla while serving as Minister of Finance for over ten years.
He urged the people of Anguilla to stay focussed for the upcoming election. “Focus on the Anguillian dream and your personal dreams,” he exhorted them. “We promise you that we will put in place all the requisite conditions to deliver those aspirations that must be in the hearts of every Anguillian. After all, it is about you.”
