Hew: Voters need to know more about politics

(CNS): Joey Hew, the Progressives leader-in-waiting, has said that he and his party will make a concerted effort in the coming weeks to raise voters’ awareness of how government and politics work in the Cayman Islands. Hew said that a poll and round-table discussions commissioned by the party had revealed a lack of knowledge of the local governance landscape and political system, which needs to be addressed.

The consultants hired by the PPM to survey voters found that, as the only established political party, the Progressives have a responsibility to educate the voting public on these matters and recommended that they take on the job of explaining how party politics works.

Speaking on Radio Cayman last week, Hew explained how running on a party platform differs from running as an independent and how a party manifesto becomes the basis for policy when a government is elected. He contrasted that with the “experiment” after the last election of a government made up almost entirely of independents with an entirely different agenda.

“I am a strong believer in organised politics in the sense that we are all singing from the same hymn book… and share the same policy agenda and a manifesto that guides it,” he said, adding that manifestos “are not set in stone as things can change” due to external changes that might impact tourism or the financial services.

But in general, anyone running on a party ticket is going to get behind the same policy agenda, which will have been shaped and agreed upon before the election.

He refuted the idea that the 2021 result was a rejection of party politics since eight people, including the current premier, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, had run on the PPM ticket and were returned to office.

However, he said that in the wake of the results, the Progressives believed that they would form the government. Before Election Day, they had made alliances with several independent candidates they had expected would join forces with them if elected. But instead, all of the independents decided overnight to form a government with Wayne Panton.

O’Connor-Connolly and later Dwayne Seymour also joined the PACT coalition, leaving the PPM in opposition.

He said that in 2025, if the PPM can find the right people, the party intends to run candidates in at least twelve constituencies and hopes to have candidates in all 19.

Hew explained the PPM party constitution and how it provides for selecting candidates and leaders, and then how the country’s constitution provides for leaders and a change in leadership, as will be the case when Hew takes over from Roy McTaggart, the current PPM leader.

After the Progressives vote Hew as their leader at the party conference, McTaggart will resign as opposition leader and the governor will swear in Hew as his successor. Hew will then lead the opposition for the last few months of this administration and then lead the campaign for the general election next year.

Promoting the concept of party politics, where voters know what policies the party candidates will support and who will be their leader before the election, he compared it to the situation now where no one had actually voted for PACT or what became the UPM administration.

He criticised the idea that independent thinkers can form a successful government and pointed out that when people are not on the same page, it’s very hard to develop policy, and it’s important that the public becomes more knowledgeable about how the system works before the country goes to the polls again.

Hew said he had taken seriously the consultants’ comments that it is “incumbent on us as the only party in the country to educate our population about government”.

Watch the full show on Radio Cayman’s YouTube channel below: