OBA Leader Announces New Shadow Cabinet
[Updated] A “new Shadow Cabinet serves to emphasise the One Bermuda Alliance’s change in course,” OBA Leader Craig Cannonier said today as he announced his new team, with Trevor Moniz, Jeanne Atherden and Michael Dunkley no longer in the Shadow Cabinet.
The OBA said, “Nick Kempe becomes Shadow Finance Minister, as well as the Party’s Senate Leader, Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs is Scott Pearman, Leah Scott remains as Shadow Minister of Tourism and Transport and Regulatory Affairs, Ben Smith keeps Social Development and Sports and adds National Security, Sylvan Richards is Shadow Home Affairs and Environment, Patricia Gordon-Pamplin is Shadow Health and will speak to finance in the House, Cole Simons continues as Shadow Education Minister and adds Economic Development and Susan Jackson is the Party whip and Shadow Minister of Government Reform.
Mr Cannonier, who will take on the Shadow Public Works portfolio, said: “I will ensure that the people of Bermuda will hear from this team. These Shadow Ministers will be out listening to people, to hear what the people want and they will be vocal in holding this Government to account and ensuring they do what is right for all of Bermuda, not just Premier Burt’s billionaire friends.
“I talked to a young man the other day who stopped me in the street to tell me how he had to steal his lunch for that day and how he saw no future for himself. The OBA is changing course and our focus will be on fiscal and social responsibility, to make Bermuda better for everyone, including that young man.”
“Although no longer in the Shadow Cabinet, Mr Cannonier said that Trevor Moniz, Jeanne Atherden and Michael Dunkley still had an important role to play,” the OBA said.
“They are all extremely experienced and I hope they will continue to use that experience for the benefit of the Party,” said Mr Cannonier.
“The team I have picked is the team to revitalize the OBA, to help this Party change its course, to make it the Opposition this country desperately needs and the Government it deserves.
“Major economic indicators are down, the impetus provided by the OBA has stalled, we have lots of talk of using blockchain to make Government more efficient and promises of crypto currency-related jobs, none of which will be available to the young man who had to steal his lunch.”
As noted in the OBA’s statement, Scott Pearman was named Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs, Nick Kempe was announced as the new Shadow Finance Minister, and Ben Smith added National Security, while also keeping Social Development and Sports.
Those three genres were previously held by Trevor Moniz, Jeanne Atherden and Michael Dunkley, who happen to be the three MPs who did not sign the letter which “invited” Jeanne Atherden to resign as leader last month.
This is the latest in a series of changes for the OBA, who have changed Party Leader and Chairperson in recent weeks, and one of many changes the OBA has had since the 2017 General Election.
Update 4.54pm: In response to our queries Michael Dunkley — who was not named in this new Shadow Cabinet — said “Leadership decisions are always questioned but not today by me publicly.
“I know how tough it can be as a leader, after all, against the grain of public opinion, I gave Craig Cannonier a second chance after Jetgate and asked him to serve in the Cabinet.
“I wish the new Shadow Spokespeople the best as they serve Bermuda. I will always be available to listen, provide advice or mentor.
“In addition, I still have the passion and energy for politics. My love for Bermuda and our people from one end of the island to the other has provided me with the knowledge and experience to be a strong advocate and vocal supporter for Smith’s North and Bermuda.
“We face many challenges in Bermuda and experience does matter. I will support the Government when appropriate but not waiver in calling them out if required.
“They have a significant majority that can easily override the democracy of opposition but the electorate can be assured that I will continue to advocate for their interests and that I will hold firm on the tenants of transparency and accountability.”
Update 6.21pm: PLP Chairman Owen Darrell said, “The OBA have once again reached into their old bag of UBP tricks by selecting a front bench that attempts to hide their true origin.
“The reality is that each of the members of the Shadow Cabinet share the same philosophy and ideology that:
- “Attempted to give the children of guest workers the right to compete against Bermudian children for jobs and opportunities
- “Attempted to open the immigration floodgates and marginalize Bermudians via Pathways to Status
- “Slashed funding for scholarships
- “Pepper Sprayed Seniors
- “Oversaw an economy that saw non-Bermudian jobs grow while Bermudian employment plummeted
“The deck of the OBA may have been shuffled and a few cards hidden up their sleeve but the OBA’s ideology remains intact.”
ya boy is really trying hard to put his stamp on things.
Maybe he shoulda done this in 2012. Nevertheless, Dunkley won’t go quietly, neither will Trevor.
It will be interesting to see who he names to the Senate.
If you put a new dress,lipstick and perfume on a pig it will still find its way to mud.
Or trough, as the case may be.
Good point. That’s why we’re back to shelling out 1.2 million to Ewart Brown. Same old PLP.
Well OBA wanted to shut him down and it came back and bit them in de @$$.
Karma is a B!+€#.
LMAO
And if we did the same to you you would be an idiot….just funnier looking.
Maybe you can finally tell us how Derrick Burgess and Zane Desilva are still sitting MP’s after the findings of the COI?
They should be eligible for a pay out too.
Just like you could never disguise your bigoted ravings.
Trevor,michael and Jean should be come independents.
If only it were that easy… I’m sure that they’ll have to be pushed
Good mix! Craig is putting his mark on things – good, the OBA needed a kick up the *** LOL!
Well there goes my vote for you. OBA why why why. You just want to get rid of UBP members because PLP supporters keep saying you are just the old UBP. So what, who cares. Firstly UBP members like Moniz and Dunkley are the reason you actually got into power in the first place, so now you axe them and secondly PLP will always consider your partly UBP. You lot think getting rid of them is going to get votes. boy o boy.
Considering how much of a horrible job the PLP are doing it actually may work.
Voters who voted for PLP because they dont like the “UBP” will probably vote for the OBA again since the PLP now have more UBP’ers than the OBA lol.
spot on. the PLP have members from the UBP, and I think it is because when the OBA got in those loosers had no where to go … so they went back to the PLP, in hopes tp get a pay check.
Ok TD
Revenge is a dish best eaten cold… perhaps along with a big glass of milk in this instance.
Craig I hope you got that guy some food?
We all know Craig & Michael Dunkley do not like each other.
This from a person who couldn’t operate a “gas station”.
And the guy who thought importing a live tiger in a tiny cage to impress his customers was a good idea.
You better check as one of the PLP could not run a coffee shop
So it’s ok for the PLP to have exUBP members but not the OBA?? How’s that work?
depends what colour you are/
actually it depends on who’s winning. No reason for the PLP to ‘change’, they have a dominant majority in the House. The OBA meanwhile are staring into the jaw of political irrelevance.
I aint voting plp next time. They got too much ubp.
Sad to see the opposition desstroying the little hope that OBA voters had, stupid stupid move putting Cannonier back in there, that’s a mistake that sets us all back years, in 2012 he was totally ineffective and allegedly had questionable ethics and that won’t change. Agreed something needs done but this isn’t it.
Good move on the face of it, but Oh Man watch the dirty politics now.
So the PLP is now the UBP party.
Think about it.. Kim Swan was a UBP leader. also Wayne Furbert,and Jamahl Simmons aka the flip flopper….they all at one time supported the UBP..and they all made comments about the PLP that were not very complimentary when they were a part of the UBP.
“PLP/ubp” ain’t that right, Betty? Get used to writing it that way from now on.
Here’s what I don’t understand:
Why is the UBP such a tarnished brand? Between 1968 and 1998, we got thirty years of more or less solid economic growth, a Government that ran surpluses,and no debt. Many thousands of Bermudian families became home owners during that time, (think of the heyday of John W Swan Ltd as well as other developers).
From what I can perceive, it was mainly during Dr. Ewart Brown’s incredibly nasty, vindictive, ugly, race-baiting Premiership that he and his cohorts trash talked the UBP name – are we really that stupid to buy into this? Small wonder we are in the mess we are in!
Precisely !
Despite creating the most prosperous black middle class anywhere in the world they allowed themselves to be branded as the evil white party because they were unable to fight dirty back.
As we move forward (backwards really) any new party no matter who it does or doesn’t consist of , will be branded the same way by the PLP.
Blacks in said party will be confused and whites will be ‘de oligarch’. Race is all the PLP has to fall back on and it works wonders for them. A true reflection of the electorate .
Hey , let’s talk about that elephant , the debt instead !
@ U.B.P Supporter, the U.B.P became wealthy through their not only holding the public purse , but greatly benefited through the public purse which enriched their entire families, in which they still enjoy to this day, all of their off-springs.
Do your research, so much can be said it how the U.B.P benefited from the public purse in ways of their private business being awarded many contracts, throughout their years of leadership.
They monopolized just as we see B.E.L.CO doing today with no competition, and this can be said about the former Bermuda Telephone company, Many U.B.P. former politicians owned companies that received much from the public purse, from purchase of government vehicles, purchasing goods for the prisons, from food to clothing, purchases from our many warehouse outlets that at that time were owned by U.B.P politicians, construction contracts and renovations, just to name a few.
Th point is the U.B.P Circulated the wealth of the public purse among themselves, through contracts that was awarded to themselves and their non- challenge of these practices for a very long era, and many of these facts can still be found on record to this date.
So yes they did very well, I would do very well also if I was afforded to control other people’s wealth and create wealth for my own self in the process by using the same money I am in charge of, I never went to college but you know exactly what is being said, the very sad part is, as much as you can point of a few black’s like Sir John an dhow well he did an dis doing, there was a majority of the black community that was disadvantaged as they were being taken advantage of, and today’s statistic’s proves this very point, because you do not see any of the former U.B.P, politicians families or grandchildren/great great children, in any form of suffrage, compared to the black community, and yes it is a race issue.
That’s a compelling narrative you present – and not belittling it – but, no more than more recent scandals (Bermuda Housing Corp, Lahey, Cruise Ship dock, etc), it is but a part of a much bigger story.
Of course there were some awful UBP ministers,maybe even a couple corrupt ones (I can think of one right away), but there were many more upstanding ones – C. V. Jim Woolridge, John Patton, Ann Cartright Decouto,Stanley Ratteray, of course Jack Tucker himself. On the whole, this was a time when first the groundwork for modern tourism to thrive was laid (Southampton Princess hotel for instance), then IB, especially reinsurance. A lot of solid good jobs were created which has not on the balance been the case for the past twenty years.
Instead, about half the time what we get is warped, convoluted poisonous inferences from nitwits who have failed at everything else in life… No wonder all the best brains, especially the young, cannot leave this country fast enough! There is simply no comparison say between David Allen and C V Jim Woolridge.
Also, FYI, electricity and phone companies until recently were regulated monopolies in almost all countries. The nature of those sorts of utilities was, with the technology and thinking of the time, made this the norm. At least with BELCO and BTC, anybody could buy shares in them.
I am delighted that we are in apparent about Dr. Brown and that no attempt to make excuses for him is made.
“UBP Supporter” the content of your post above is the reason black Bermudians will not vote for your party in any significant numbers anymore. What should happen is for all of the black front people like Cannonier leave the party and let the UBP/OBA white party stand on its own. Because the problem was not necessarily the institutions called the UBP or Oba BUT THE OVERWHELMINGLY WHITE VOTERS WHO WILL NEVER STOP THEIR RACIST BEHAVIOR AND VOTE FOR THE PLP. Its white identity politics on steroids. And without the Leah Scotts, Sylvan Richards and Sir John Swans it would not have lasted this long.
That is the problem and has been the key problem in Bermuda politically for the last 50 plus years.
Another example of white privilege in Bermuda.
Yawn!! Racism is a two way street you twit.
Look at you. You’re the one promoting racial segregation and then you complain about white people not voting PLP. You’re a racist.
Black Panther….you post the most racist and divisive drivel I’ve ever seen.
look up the word Hypocrite… it means you.
The majority of Bermudas population is extremely racist, wouldn’t you agree?
You’re living proof of this.
Pathetic
Lol lol listen to all the party poppers lol !! We’ve had n continue to have from 1968-20.. white Privilege! Judging from the kool-aid drinkers of oba somebody is pissed off . Are you gonna take Yuh marbles n run ? I’m not racist but I sure am prejudice against certain types of people with their devilish ways
Look around and see who owns, operates and has the largest this and that.
It’s pretty much equal but millions and overhead rule.
Goodbye Onionland.
Suckrocks and seaweed.
So basically Cannonier axed those that didn’t vote for him. Sounds like an axe to grind there. If you don’t support me, then you aren’t in the clique.
Dunkley, Atherden and Moniz should resign their seats. I bet the PLP would pick up at least one of them!
Don’t do that. Onion Juice can’t count much past 20.
Fayhe will be back Cannonier is away with him that why I will never vote for them again,he is the reason I did not vote for them and I am white I know what that man did in in the immigration.
Fayhe has his own agenda along with Cannonier. That’s one of the reasons I would not vote for the OBA.
PLP Chairman says “the OBA’s ideology remains intact”. What is the OBA’s ideology?
Their ideology is de same as UBP,its just modernized.
More like we dont have Jim Crow but we have his cousin James Crow Esquire.
Or like David Duke dont wear a white sheet and hood but a suit and tie.
Sorry but that’s one weak and lazy opposition team. Lost my vote when you let Dunkley go. Stupid!
You can talk the talk but I’ll bet you will not walk the walk.