With all other political parties and candidates having virtually declared themselves for the upcoming general election, the governing United Front Party (UFP) is gearing up for the first of two conventions at the end of July. It will be at that first event that the party, to be officially led by the Hon. Victor Banks, in place of Chief Minister, Osbourne Fleming, who is retiring, will formally select and announce its candidates for the seven electoral districts.

Hon. Victor Banks

“We are preparing for the election in 2010 and that requires a lot organisation,” Mr. Banks told The Anguillian which has been running articles on other parties and candidates over the past several weeks. “We intend to have two conventions this year. The special convention will be held at the end of July to put in place our executive and also to select our candidates. In this period we are spending time preparing for the election campaign, going through the selection process in the various constituencies to determine which candidates will be moving forward. The constituency cells are being organised and revitalised in some cases. We have so far been successful in fielding candidates in six of the seats and we are now going through a selection process in the seventh.

“Until the convention there are no official candidates. Of course the incumbents are Mr. Neil Rogers and I. The Hon. Chief Minister, Mr. Osbourne Fleming, the Hon. Kenneth Harrigan and the Hon. Albert Hughes will be retiring at the end of their term. In district 7, we have one candidate, Mr. Kenswick Richardson, who is vying for selection and he has no [other UFP] competition. In district 6 we have Mr. Curtis Richardson who is vying for that seat and he has no competition. In district 2, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge is vying for that seat and she also has no competition so far. In district 1, Mr. Othlyn Vanterpool is the only [UFP] candidate that has put his name up for selection so obviously at the convention that will probably be ratified as well. In district 5, which is the Road North constituency, we are still going through a selection process. There are a number of candidates who have presented themselves and the constituency cell will have to present a candidate to the party to determine whether that person will be selected.” The second convention is planned for later in the year when the party will present its manifesto.

Explaining the delay in the UFP commencing its campaign, along with the other political groups and candidates, Mr. Banks said his party had the benefit of deciding when the election would be called. Consequently, the other parties “would need to be a lot more cautious so as a consequence they have to make sure that they come out early and organise themselves.” He was particularly happy that there were a lot of young and new candidates contesting the election, a matter he described as a healthy sign. “It means that the interest in the political arena is heightening. It is healthy for our community to have a choice of representatives,” he reasoned.

Mr. Banks said he was grateful to the Chief Minister who announced on Anguilla Day that he would not be seeking re-election and would be putting his support behind him as the new leader of the party. “I thank him for that support and the party for endorsing me as well,” he remarked. “As far as I know I am the only candidate up for the position of the leader of the party for the convention in July where that will be formalised. On that occasion I will have the opportunity to give a more definitive statement on my vision for the Anguilla United Front, what I will bring to the table in terms of my experience over the last 29 years of politics and what I intend to do with respect to reorganising or revitalising the party. Most of the candidates of the United Front have served for at least 20 years and we believe that it is important at this juncture that we should go through a plan to bring in new candidates, and I think this party has demonstrated that it is prepared to do that. With three of our incumbents retiring, it means that there is room for three new candidates.”

Mr. Banks, at present Deputy Political Leader of the UFP, continued: “I think it is important that we recognise that change will always come. The world is dynamic and the way the people think about their vision for Anguilla is dynamic even though there are certain basic and fundamental principles which we hope to latch on to. At the end of the day we want Anguilla to be relevant to the needs of technology and with all the changes in the way people live. There will be changes in policies and changes in approaches to governance. I believe that in terms of the electoral process, it is up to the people to make that determination whether this is the period when they desire change. Very often the incumbent has the advantage in an electoral situation and a disadvantage as well where he or she will have to run on his or her record to show a capability to represent the people …
“We believe that the Anguilla United Front has a great deal of experience in leading Anguilla over the last ten years and members of the party had been in government for over 20 years with the one exception of Mr. Neil Rogers who is in his first term but who has brought a great deal of maturity into the system. I believe that with that kind of approach we, as a party, have been able to demonstrate that we are prepared to bring new leadership on board. We are prepared to look at new ways of doing things; we are prepared to incorporate the views of people about the way Anguilla should go. We have certainly brought prosperity to Anguilla for a long period. The challenge of the worldwide recession is affecting all of us…Anguilla is a small and open economy so therefore it is very susceptible to external shocks, but we have the capability to deal with those shocks and we are doing our best to find a way forward.

“Obviously the Opposition has to campaign that it is the better party and has the ability to deal with these situations. The Opposition would want the Government to fail in being able to deal with these challenges…but we, on the other hand, have the challenge to make sure that we can deal with the present situation successfully. By doing so, we will have demonstrated in 2010 that we are capable of handling the affairs of Anguilla in the good times as well as in the bad times. It requires a Government which has experience in not only dealing with situations inside Anguilla, but also situations outside Anguilla. They are all becoming more and more a part of a regional community. The future of Anguilla lies in the region, and in the world, so persons who are elected to political office in Anguilla have to be able to represent Anguillians in Anguilla and outside Anguilla in good times as well as in challenging times."
Mr. Banks noted that Anguilla has had coalition Governments over the years but every political party wanted to know that those persons elected to office, and formed the Government, were part of the vision, principles, goals, objectives and philosophies of that party. He noted, however, that there was not a lot that divided the parties in terms of their political philosophy. “We are all people who believe in the free enterprise system, human rights and justice,” he stated. “It is a matter of style in the various party organisations, but what is important is that a composition of a party must include qualified individuals with experience to deliver what are the dictates of their manifesto and what exactly a party represents.”

Mr. Banks had this to say if no one party emerged with a majority of seats after the election. “In the event that that is not possible, one would have to seek to be aligned to the party which is more closely associated with the views that you espouse. I believe that going forward we will have the opportunity, after the election if one or other party is not successful, to determine whether or not the group of people have the kind of interests which you want to be associated with.”

The coming leader of the Anguilla United Front spoke about his desire to see a clean and respectable election campaign. “It is my position and view that the party should conduct a campaign that respects the views of all the people in the community and a positive one that focuses on the issues,” he affirmed. “It is the kind of campaign that I have tried to run all my life. I have never tried to involve myself in personal issues and I am a bit disappointed because negative politics, which seem to be continuing in the political campaigns, are being waged in Anguilla. It is my hope that persons who are vying for political office will stick to the issues and keep out of the personal politics that so often characterise the kind of approaches that a number of senior politicians in the past have adopted. I think this is not good for Anguilla. We need to go out there and tell the people what we are going to do; what our vision is for Anguilla, why we need persons who should be chosen to lead Anguilla either as individuals or members of a party.
“We need to respect other persons who are part of the political process. Everybody who runs for political office, even though they are politicians, have families and friends who can be hurt in the political process. I think it is decent that all persons who are campaigning or vying for political office, or who are supporting them, should exhibit that kind of decent behaviour that takes into account the feelings, not only of the candidates, but of those persons who support them – relatives, friends and others. It is important that Anguilla remains a decent community. If we don’t teach that kind of behaviour on political platforms, how can we exhibit it when we take on the roles of leadership and become role models in our community? That is one of the important considerations that I would want all candidates in this general election to take on board. I certainly will be instilling that in the members of my party as the leader of the Anguilla United Front in July, God’s willing, and throughout the period that I will continue to be accepted as the leader of the Anguilla United Front.”

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