UPDATE: 'Giving the leader latitude'...Dayton explains his decision

Member of Parliament for St Ann North West Dr Dayton Campbell has indicated that he resigned from the shadow cabinet to give People’s National Party (PNP) President Dr Peter Phillips a free hand.

“To give the leader the latitude to choose his team”, Campbell told The Gleaner, explaining his decision to resign as opposition spokesman on health.

According to party insiders, the firebrand MP stepped down hours after Phillips defeated Central Manchester Member of Parliament Peter Bunting by 76 votes to retain the presidency of the PNP.

Campbell was the face of Bunting’s Rise United team during the bruising three-month campaign for the internal election.

He has been a member of the shadow cabinet since 2016 when he was appointed by then Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller as spokesman on agriculture.

Campbell was appointed to shadow the health portfolio in September 2016, after Phillips took over from Simpson Miller.

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