Orville Taylor | Crossing side in politics

You may not know, but prominent backbone Labourite Audley ‘Man a Yard’ Shaw used to be a member of the People’s National Party (PNP).

And there have been many others. We do know that former labour minister and veteran politician Karl Samuda is a historic figure because he has been the only politician who embodied the representation within a constituency to such an extent that as he swayed from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to the PNP and then swung back, after lighting a candle, singing a Sankey and finding his way back home, held on to this seat like a strong opinion.

Samuda is an enigma and an aberration because this is the only time that the electorate has forgiven an elected representative who took their support for granted, carried it across the aisle, and still maintained their backing.

What we must recognise is that Jamaica is a very politically divided country, and with the exception of garrison constituencies, are communities where people vote virtually en bloc, the electors typically vote according to how they feel about the party.

True, there is some element which is connected to the candidate herself. However, if the constituency or division is against the party; there is nothing she can do to get elected.

Simply put, ostensibly, when a person is voted in by a set of electors, it is because the majority of them are in support of that particular political entity.

NOT THE SAME

Now, this is not the same as the elected official being a mere puppet of the party. After all, she is either a member of parliament (MP) or parish councillor (PC), elected by the people, for the people.

Therefore, though elected on her party’s platform and ticket, she is free to take positions based on her own conscience as long as they do not betray the interests or collective will of her constituents.

So for example, if she is from Southfield and was known to be a staunch advocate for farmers then if her party takes a position that runs counter to those who voted for her, then anything but a supporting vote on the issue is simply wrong not only on principle, but in every way.

The point is that if you are sent in by a negotiating team to carry on collective bargaining on behalf of a set of workers, there is no way on God’s Earth that you should be switching ground in the middle of the negotiations and suddenly siding with management.

There is no rule that says that any person is bound to carry a party allegiance for life.

A politician has every right to change political loyalties. Indeed, given some of the shenanigans in the PNP at this point, it is understandable why some members would want to jump overboard rather than remain in deep ship.

Close elections will favour the party that is better organised and united under one leader.

I have no fundamental issue with a political activist or politician whose green orange ripens or whose hairy mango turns into green skinned black mango because he wants to succeed.

Politics is about playing that kind of game. Elections are won or lost by pulling people to one side, and no one is immune. History is replete with examples of politicians who have changed side in Jamaica.

Although there was only one party at the time, the founder of the JLP, Alexander’s Bustamante, was a founding member of the PNP. Other iconic Jamaicans, such as Madame Rose Leon, have tasted electoral success on both sides.

DEMOCRACY AT ITS BEST

This is democracy at its best. Notwithstanding this, however, if one has strong feelings about the party to which they belong then by all means resign from the party indeed.

After resigning, one should then expose oneself to the electorate to see whether or not they want him. This is not unlike a situation where someone gets into a relationship with someone of the opposite sex then after a sex change, she/he decides to continue the relationship.

Of course, my advice would have been go seek a new ‘man date’ because the entrée into the House was based on you being something that you no longer are.

On Friday, a rabid supporter of the JLP somehow misunderstood what the argument is and assuming that they are able to, will read this with discernment.

My position was exactly the same when a Westmorland JLP MP refused to discuss whether he had beaten his partner but clearly abused the system and image of Bustamante’s party. As I said then, and I say it again, Wright was not elected as an independent. So if he wants to vacate his membership of the party, he must also resign from the support of the Labourites who had elected him and then return to Parliament if the others want him.

Therefore, whatever might have been the motive for the three musketeers in the same parish to suddenly trample upon the people’s trust and become ‘independent’, they, like Wright, must realise that one cannot be dependent when he is sitting on resources that are partisan in nature.

Inasmuch as it might suit the short-term interests of a biased minority, it is a pattern that should end.

Does anyone remember the furore when it was revealed that the prime minister had made it clear that senators must tow party lines in the Upper House?

I saw the knife that stuck the goats. Take sheep and mark depth!

- Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.