Democratic Labour Party Town Hall Meeting Takes Surprising Turn as Police Visit
August 19, 2024
Democratic Labour Party (DLP) town hall meeting at The Ellerslie School in Barbados sees unexpected police presence as ousted leaders Yearwood and Blackett address supporters amid party turmoil and calls for reform.
A town hall meeting held by concerned Democratic Labour Party (DLP) members supporting ousted former president Ronnie Yearwood and general secretary Steve Blackett took an unexpected turn last night.
Members of the Barbados Police Service came to the premises of The Ellerslie School in Black Rock, St Michael, along with the DLP’s acting president Andre Worrell and acting general secretary Pedro Shepherd. Scores of Yearwood and Blackett supporters angrily left the confines of the meeting being held in the school’s auditorium, claiming Worrell and Shepherd had brought law enforcement in an attempt to end the meeting prematurely.
As veteran DLP member Ricky Williams started to speak around 7:30 p.m., Yearwood and Blackett momentarily went outside to find out why police were on the compound.Worrell and Shepherd spent about ten minutes in a conversation with the three uniformed officers before leaving, after which Yearwood and Blackett re-entered the meeting without further ado.
It was only last Thursday that Yearwood and Blackett were expelled from the party, and Worrell and Shepherd named to be acting in those respective positions.Meanwhile, during a member briefing streamed on YouTube last night, Worrell read out a laundry list of charges laid against both Yearwood and Blackett, explaining why the General Council took action last Thursday.An emotional Yearwood, though not slated to speak at the Ellerslie meeting, made a call to DLP members to stand up and be counted, and remake Barbados.
An emotional Yearwood, though not slated to speak at the Ellerslie meeting, made a call to DLP members to stand up and be counted, and remake Barbados.
The best of us is yet to come,” he said to hearty applause. “We can remake our country but we first have to remake the DLP and make it a party of service to Barbadians.”
He charged that the political system in Barbados was broken, but he remained hopeful.
“I think we can fix it. I think our better days are ahead of us. What we are going through as a party has to happen. We have to clean house. The only way to offer something to Barbadians is to clean house,” he said.
Yearwood said the DLP was still part of the cornerstone of Barbados’ political landscape, and people recognised plenty had gone wrong within the confines of George Street (party headquarters) that could have a profound effect on the country.
