Western Westmoreland MP facing run-off to decide who will represent JLP

A run-off is set for Sunday between Member of Parliament for Westmoreland Western Morland Wilson and Councillor Garfield James to determine who is to represent the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the next general election.

The challenge from James, one of two former People’s National Party (PNP) councillors who switched allegiance to the JLP in September 2023, has caused a rift in the seat Wilson won in 2020, sending shock waves throughout the political arena.

The two opponents declined to say much when contacted by The Gleaner on Wednesday, following an explosive few days of accusations by their supporters about betrayals and political expediency.

Wilson directed The Gleaner to the JLP’s secretariat when asked whether he remained the JLP’s candidate for the traditionally strong PNP constituency.

“You would have to ask the party secretariat about that ... . I have no comment at the moment,” he said.

James, in the meantime, said he wanted to focus on the selection exercise and would not comment before then.

“I am confirming that there will be a selection to decide who becomes the candidate for the constituency, and I am on the ballot,” said James, who currently serves as the principal of Little London High School. “I will state my reason for this challenge after Sunday’s internal poll.”

But the marked silence contradicts the disquiet on the ground, with supporters of Wilson accusing James and his supporters, including three councillor candidates and Councillor for the Little London Division Ian Myles of “undermining” the member of parliament (MP).

Myles, too, crossed the floor of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation to join the JLP in September 2023. Both he and James, who left the PNP because they were reportedly not in support of the party’s prospective candidate, Ian Hayles, won their divisions for the JLP in February 2024. The PNP won the other three divisions.

Questions have been raised about the structure within the JLP that would allow James, the councillor for the Sheffield Division and a relatively new member of the party, to challenge a sitting MP for candidacy.

NO SUPPORT FOR WILSON

In a 50-minute-long audio circulating on social media, former PNP Councillor Venesha Phillips, who also joined the JLP in 2023, claimed that neither James nor Myles have shown support for Wilson since switching parties.

“They don’t support him at all,” Phillips asserted, disclosing that there was an alleged confrontation between James and the secretary for the constituency over the lack of support.

“So he has not been on the ground because he was waiting on the seat. According to him, that’s his arrangement, and it’s very wrong because you don’t try to break up a seat,” added Phillips, who noted that Wilson’s 2020 victory “hurt” the Opposition PNP.

The Gleaner contacted Phillips, who previously identified herself as Wilson’s campaign manager, for comment but she declined, noting that she was not involved in the current affairs and, further, could not speak on behalf of Wilson.

Phillips handled Wilson’s communications in January during a JLP “sound-off” for delegates to decide whether they would support him in the general election.

CONCERNS REMAIN

Wilson survived the yes-no vote in the internal process, securing a majority in three of the five divisions.

It was left for the party’s secretariat to confirm Wilson’s rerun, but concerns remained about whether he could hold on to the seat the JLP had not held for 31 years, from 1989 to 2020.

On Wednesday, The Gleaner contacted PNP General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell, who disclosed that the party is polling ahead of the JLP in all three Westmoreland constituencies based on the result of the latest survey commissioned by the Opposition party.

However, he declined to share the numbers, asserting that the party is leading by double digits in two of the constituencies.

But Phillips argued on the audio – a recording of a TikTok Live which involved JLP supporters – that the PNP, in the years that it held control of the constituency, failed to foster any development, insisting that it was Wilson who brought “culturing and soberness” to the seat.

She defended his stewardship, noting that “him can’t do everything one time”. Added to that, she said the first two years of his tenure were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, she noted the position of the JLP, repeating that internal polls have put Wilson well behind Hayles, a PNP vice-president and former MP for Hanover Western.

Phillips quoted JLP General Secretary Dr Horace Chang as stating that Wilson is behind Hayles by double digits.

“Whether Morland wants to challenge that is another matter. That’s what Dr Chang has told us. As part of Morland’s campaign team, I can say that nothing is wrong with that. However, what Morland was advancing, [to the internal team looking at the data] is that, let us say, for argument’s sake, that the poll is correct ... and the PNP is appearing to be ahead, where does Morland Wilson sit in relation to the other persons if you put them in? Have you polled him against James? Have you polled him against Myles? Have you polled him against any other?” Phillips questioned.

She alleged that a member of James’ camp has disclosed that he is not interested in challenging Wilson, but is being pushed by the party to do so.

The Gleaner was unable to reach Chang for comment.

PARTY’S INTEREST

Ahead of Sunday’s vote, Myles, former Councillor Kevin Murray, who lost the Friendship Division; Owen James, the councillor caretaker for the Negril Division; and Basil Thompson, councillor caretaker for the Grange Hill Division, have thrown their support behind James.

“For me and all the councillor caretakers supporting Mr James, it is not about personality; it’s about the party’s interest. If we are seeing the signs, which are clear, then we would be foolish to do otherwise,” said Myles, who is James’ campaign manager, in referencing the results of the internal polls done in the constituency.

“We are looking to secure 400 votes from approximately 600 delegates on Sunday.”

Murray, who lost to the PNP’s Joan Bahadur in the last local government elections, said Wilson does not understand the responsibilities that were entrusted to him in the 2020 general election, where he surprisingly defeated the PNP’s Dr Wykeham McNeill.

“When I go on the ground, the workers and most constituents say they are not working with MP Wilson because they prefer Councillor James,” Murray told The Gleaner. “He (Wilson) works alone, has poor communication and leadership skills, and despite repeated feedback, he has not addressed these issues.”

In January, days after Wilson survived the yes-no vote, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said the party had not settled on the candidate.

“We did one consultation last Sunday in this constituency, that is then followed up by this meeting. Then, there are polls to be done, and that will give us a full picture as to where we stand with the candidate, and with the voters in the constituency,” Holness said then.

Phillips has called for the party to indicate how Wilson fared when compared to James, insisting that a recent canvass showed that the incumbent is strong in the constituency.

“Where does Morland stack [up] in relation to James and the others in it? Because we are putting it forward that Morland is ahead of them,” she said.

editorial@gleanerjm.com