PPM works on policies as PACT faces instability
(CNS): The People’s Progressive Movement is in the process of building the policy platform first unveiled in its manifesto during the 2021 General Elections, when the party’s coalition government was ousted from office. The PPM marks its 20th anniversary this month, having formed in 2002 after Kurt Tibbetts was ousted as the leader of government business, as the head of government was called then, and replaced by McKeeva Bush. Two decades on, the political landscape looks just as unstable, with Bush once again at the heart of political controversy.
Although the Progressive manifesto failed to return enough MPs after the 2021 election to allow Roy McTaggart, the party’s third leader, to form a government, in a video address to mark the anniversary he nevertheless sounded an optimistic tone for the future of the party, hoping that the development of the new policies will carry the PPM back into office whenever the next election may be.
In 2001 Kurt Tibbetts was deposed as LOGB in a political coup and replaced by McKeeva Bush as head of the newly formed United Democratic Party (UDP), which was the first political party of the Cayman Islands. The PPM was formed in response, with Tibbetts as the first party leader. So far, the PPM has been the only constant political entity that could be called a party in the traditional sense.
When it launched in early September 2002 at a town hall meeting in Bodden Town, its elected members were all in opposition but the party went on to win the next election in 2005 and then led two coalition governments in 2013 and 2017.
McTaggart said that, despite once again being in opposition, their desire to help the Cayman Islands progress and improve remains as strong as ever. He said the founding members “understood that our Islands deserved and needed a new kind of organised politics that could create stable and effective governments capable of meeting the demands of the modern world. That need has not changed.”
The opposition leader said he looked forward with confidence because the Progressives’ time in opposition allows them to rebuild, engage with the people and develop the policy platform.
“At the last election, we presented a manifesto of new ideas for the environment, economic diversification, and social progress — and we will build on these,” he said. “We will continue arguing for Progressives’ policy positions and positive change that benefits our Islands and our people.”
The PPM is understood to already be preparing for the next election, just 18 months after the last one. The party is identifying candidates for all 19 seats in an effort to win outright and avoid the horsetrading challenges that have marked the last three elections.
Twenty years on from the coup that gave rise to the UDP and the PPM, Bush remains front and centre in local politics. And once again he is in the middle of a scandal of his own making where sexual harassment allegations have been made against him.
He is also in the midst of shifting internal political alliances that appear to have formed within PACT, as well as being instrumental in fuelling emerging policy differences, largely between Planning Minister Jay Ebanks and Premier Wayne Panton, the minister for sustainability.
At the time of the publication of this article, there has been no official indication that Bush has submitted his resignation from the speaker’s chair in relation to this latest scandal, suggesting the very real possibility that, despite pressure from the premier, the governor and some of his Cabinet colleagues, Bush may not go without a fight.
The increasingly obvious differences within the current PACT Government, compounded by the fallout from Bush’s recent inappropriate behaviour, means the political landscape today is just as unstable as it was two decades ago.
See McTaggart’s address below:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Was it not the PPM who has caused born Caymanians and or their born-in Cayman-children to now have to PROVE they are CAYMANIANs?! For various reasons or purposes which a Caymanian may have a need of? Was it not the PPM who was not supportive enough to let the passport office for Caymanians to apply for their passports, instead of having to fly home to a[[ply for and collect passports?
Roy, yourself and Joey “Who” are disgusting as representatives of our Cayman Islands. Your interests are self serving, above love of country.
When your “PPM” had the opportunity to address Mackeevas indiscretions, your fearless Knight chose to suspend the house, call an early election and wait as you believed that your elected seat was assured as the Premier.
Your hypocrisy is lamentable. Pointing fingers at the government and claiming nothing is being done..
Instead of putting country before your own interests and rid our country of a deplorable human being who sits as the Speaker of our Honourable House, your and your lackey, crooney J. WHO chose this ad an opportunity to over through a sitting government.
Sour grapes. You and your entire bunch..
I’ll not start on Barbara and that’s just a waste of brain cells.
caymanians elect these people so you have no-one else to blame but yourselves.
and to make things worse, you also prevent the most qualified and successful people on island from being elected…
welcome to wonderland.
The voters need to change the eligibility and disqualification criteria in the Elections Law to end the recycling of career bad actors. In the absence of differentiable party policy, OMOV can work better if supported by another column where preference on leader is selected. That way the Will of voters can decide who runs the show.
Wayne “Talking Head Panton”
And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
And you may ask yourself, “How do I work this?”
And you may ask yourself, “Am I right? Am I wrong?”
And you may say to yourself, “My God! What have I done?”
Truly, “Same as it ever was”. The great experiment of electing independents comes crashing down, and we are faced with a choice between the disciplined and greedy and the incompetent and corrupt.
You’ve lost the younger crowd, but I am with you!
We’re on the road to nowhere, come on inside….
Here they are pretending they weren’t the self-serving sell-outs that held power for so long and did virtually nothing other than line pockets of the influential.
So true!
They also gifted away or land swapped hundreds of acres of prime crown/public land with uncounted losses in duty revenue to preferred (billionaire) developers. Roy, in his time as the entrusted numbers gatekeeper, admitted PPM/Unity hadn’t been keeping track of waivers! Past time for a full audit of their period of maladministration.
Ban leaf blowers!
Maybe the leaf blower can do a better job than these muppets running the show.
Gas ones.
PPM should concentrate on removing Mac…Even Pact members would back that one.
Trying to win a No confidence in every member of the government is a wasted effort.
But they need Mac and his fries to bring the PACT government down….
How in the hell was Panton so stupid as to allow Planning and Sustainability to be separate Ministries? It should be The Ministry of Planning, Sustainability and the Environment. The three are intrinsically related.
Can we get an Amen?
Thank you, I have been saying this, to be exact my thought process was on planning and DOE I had forgotten Sustainability because I guess that really hasn’t gotten much traction. But yeah I completely agree with you. There certainly would be less fighting among them and it would be much more fiscal responsibility. There must be one person who could be Minister ( not necessarily) among this group of dingbats) but somewhere in the Cayman Islands who could do this. With all that is going on now I believe we have to double down to find replacements ASAP.
Combining them into one ministry means one less seat on the gravy train. Turkeys don’t vote for Xmas. There is a vast expenses account to raid.
Seriously, are we just supposed to pretend the PPM were not in power for 12 of the last 18 or so years? (Was it really 12?! incredible how poor a group they are..not poor in the pocket of course, they’re all rather wealthy) Go away PPM, take PACT with you if you want. We need real change here people or its just the same again and again and again.
Kaboom 💥
Thanks to ALL MPs for destroying the Cayman Islands. All should resign along with the Speaker. That’s the last decent act of redemption that all MPs can do in the best interests of the Cayman Islands.
Kaboom 💥
OMOV is, has been and will continue to be (until expunged) an UNMITIGATED disaster for these islands.
The West Minster, first past the post, winner take all system means that even with institutionalised parties, be they Conservative/Tory or Labour in Britain for example means that by winning ONLY 35% of the popular vote you get a landslide of 60% of the seats (or what ever is the most recent numbers…)- totally not proportionate and a very, very skewed form of democracy.
In the Cayman Islands, its even worse as we do not have proper, developed, ideological based political parties, rather (at best) groups of personalities that find common cause for a time…before falling out with each other – “crabs in a bucket” syndrome.
What we have here in the OMOV/Single Seat/West Minster/Winner Take All system is that small numbers of bought/easily swayed “woters” in hermetically sealed small constituencies, elect those you pander to them on micro local issues (i.e. “our kitchen needs a new fridge”, “our daughter needs a “government” grant for university”). It does not produce politicians of statute, none/few that can run an economy, have the knowledge, experience, intellect needed for government.
Multi Seat Constituencies.
Proportional Representation.
Real Political Parties.
Get rid of “cabal”/personality/and clepto-politics.
Have accountability.
In my home district I used to get 5 votes I could distribute to a team, or pile onto one candidate, or spoil. Nowhere else in the world are certain people permitted to skew results like that. It was changed specifically because it wasn’t proportionate.
Nahhh, there’s still a little something left to pillage.
One of the key reasons I did not vote PPM last election was because of their lack of regard for the environment and their overall goal of helping the rich get richer. I hope they address these failings.
Kaboom 💥
Failings? Those are the things they set out to do!
PPM destroyed Caymanian priority with creation of WORC and policy of ignoring established regulations for the benefit of Caymanians. Interestingly these same regulations were fundamental to Roy becoming a partner.
PPM also spent our money fighting us in nefarious port project. Don’t forget!!!
Kaboom 💥
They illegally froze the legal pathway to Permanent Residency and Caymanian Status. Nobody ever charged in that conspiracy!
It is unfortunate that the PPM is still around after 20 years. May PPM fall for good in the next election and stop destroying the Cayman Islands.
Kaboom 💥
The PPM never allowed any other backbench to shadow their Ministerial work while in Cabinet. In fact, most of their legislative huddles took place in private closed-doors members-only caucus. Bills were brought to the LA already signed, for seal and Gazette. Now, for the first time ever, backbenchers, like the PPM, have afforded a transparent opportunity to shadow the Cabinet, and yet, we still don’t hear anything constructive from the sour-grapes PPM – except snippets about their continued thirst for a return to semi-autocratic power. No thanks, we’ve already lived that movie for a full generation. The Opportunity Cost of stable and organised cronyism has been incalculable.
Kaboom 💥
PPM you are like a bad Ex that won’t go away. We do not want you back. Just leave please!!!
Kaboom 💥
do-nothing-ppm have been just as poor in opposition as they were in power.
direct rule please for 2 years.
The last thing needed is direct rule. They cannot even rule themselves.
But the big money developers love PPM
Too bad the best of the rest won’t work together to freeze out Mac and his cronies.
Poor Roy..
Roy’s PPM-tarnished reputation has been self-induced.
Isn’t it amazing how Roy and the PPM continue to use this McKeeva issue to try to make themselves look good? You had your chance Roy, you and Alden could have ousted him from his seat but instead thinking that you could hold on to power choose to call a “snap” election thinking that the people of these islands would be fools and put you back in power again.
Roy, please try to understand that your party is not wanted by the majority of the people. Even if the present PACT government fall apart, we do not want the PPM. You are not going to be elected by default..
Focus yourselves on being less power hungry and narcissistic and become more people focus..and by that I don’t mean dragging out every old person in George Town for a photo op..Don’t know if you realize this but that is called “pandering” and it makes you look like a bunch of fools.
Kaboom 💥
I wish I could like this comment 1000 times over!!
Cayman is in the mess it is in now because of your government. Since winning the election in 2005 you’ve had 12 years in power out of 16 and the only thing you’ve made sure to do is continue to grant expats an easy way in to the country, while giving massive duty allowances to the rich developers. During this time your Caymanian people have suffered and you really wonder why you are now the opposition?
The only thing I can applaud your government for was to follow the advice of the experts and get us through the Covid pandemic much better than many other countries. But that was not was not enough for you to get back in power. Clearly the people want change, change that your government said it would bring and clearly couldn’t deliver.
Give the PACT government a chance to make things right by, and for the people of the Cayman Islands. Not the ones that come by plane, but the ones who came by pain!
Kaboom 💥
You are so effing annoying, pls stop
No meaningful change with McKeeva will be effected as long as Jay remains minister. He will forever be the mouthpiece of McKeeva Bush.
What happens in Honduras stay in Honduras
Instead of different agendas, why don’t you all try something new — try working together toward common goals that benefit the people and the ecology. Fahgettabou’ your pockets for now; they are more full than ours.
I know, I know, fool’s mission to try to lobby for an end to the party system. I think the parties work for themselves and THEIR goals, not necessarily ours.
Kaboom 💥
Every time I see this loser and his party make a statement, my only thoughts are, !2 Years, You had 12 years….never again should the Caymanian people trust you or your party…
Kaboom 💥
My goodness, can this old man really handle the strain of being Premier? He really looks bad.
He looks lean alright – which is way more than you can say for the rest of them.
There’s no place for him there… this is the business of fat cats.
It’s not him they are putting in place.
Sir Alden will be eligible for Premier again. Retirement to his farm my eye.
Kaboom 💥
Kerpow 💣💣💣💣
21 @12.19 pm – Roy McTaggart is younger than he looks. He’s just in early 60s. He’s not Joe Biden.
Better hurry Roy, Wayne’s people jumping ship
👎
Roy better hurry before he fizzles out himself!