PPM to confirm candidate slate at national meeting
(CNS): The People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) will hold its annual conference on 1 March, just two days before the official start of the 2025 General Election campaign on Nomination Day. The party plans to field a candidate in most of the 19 constituencies, which means there will be a number of new faces on the platform as well as more familiar ones.
The current speaker and party chairman, Sir Alden McLaughlin, is giving up his seat in Red Bay. Moses Kirkconnell and David Wight are also stepping down from their respective seats of Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman (CBW&LC) and George Town West (GTW).
While several new candidates have already declared their plans to run on the Progressives’ ticket, none are official until they are confirmed at the national conference.
PPM Leader Joey Hew, who will lead the party into the election, has said this is a crucial time as the Cayman Islands faces significant challenges, including the rising cost of living and concerns about debt, crime and development.
“This conference represents more than just our annual gathering — it’s about presenting our unified vision for Cayman’s future,” he said in a release about the conference. “Under our Cayman 4.0 platform, we’re bringing forward concrete solutions to address cost of living, environmental protection, immigration reform, and crime prevention.”
The conference agenda includes the election of new party leaders, ratification of the party’s slate of candidates and constitutional matters. Party officials said they expect a full house as the PPM prepares to demonstrate its readiness to return to government with a comprehensive plan for progress.
“The PPM enters this election cycle with strong momentum, emphasising its track record of fiscal responsibility and crisis management during previous terms in office,” a spokesperson for the party said. “The party’s message of ‘Time for Progress. Progress for all’ resonates with its commitment to addressing the pressing issues facing Caymanians while maintaining economic stability.”
The conference will take place at the Kimpton Seafire Resort on Saturday, 1 March. Registration opens at 5:30pm, with the main conference proceedings beginning at 6:30pm. Members interested in standing for officer positions are reminded that nominations must be submitted to the general secretary no later than 15 February — fourteen days before the conference date.
The PPM, aka the Progressives, is the Cayman Islands’ oldest existing political party. It was founded in 2002 in the wake of the 2001 political coup, in which Kurt Tibbets was ousted from the position of leader of government business by a group of MLAs (now known as MPs) who formed the first party in the Cayman Islands, the United Democratic Party (UDP).
The PPM has held either a majority or led a coalition government in three of the last administrations since it formed its first government in 2005. It lost to the UDP in 2009 but came back as the majority in coalition governments in both 2013 and 2017 but was unable to form a government in 2021.
Despite being the largest single party or group to be elected that year, the PPPM failed to make a deal with enough independents, given the sentiment across the country that voters had called for something new. This led to the novel concept of a government formed almost entirely of candidates who had run on independent tickets.
However, following the division, infighting and lack of a unified policy platform that played out for all to see over the last four years, the landscape emerging for the 2025 election is one focused on parties, groups or teams that agree on and are collectively committed to certain policy positions ahead of the vote and making it clear who is likely to be premier if they are elected.
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Category: 2025 General Elections, Elections, Politics
Stupid people vote for the same party that had 12 years and did nothing but raise their own wages, yes only Stupid foolish people vote for proven people that only thought about their own pockets and sold these islands down the drain. At least give a new party a chance to see if they will do better.
All the years PPM was in power they did nothing to help/reduce the cost of living and nothing about crime, the Dump etc. So why should we believe them now ??. They think they can fool us, but most of us are NOT fools.
The PPM and UDP are parties of yesteryear, too thick to understand how irrelevant and out of touch they are. Permanent back benchers.
permanent trough feeders, as are most of the 19.
Are we the people gonna be fooled yet again by the Poor Peoples misving Paarty. the lil CUC and water authority gifys and itha are fine ya think. time enough you realise that with these they buyingg your vote/
For the life of me, I cannot understand why this party even still has some support (granted, it is dwindling) as they have proven that they will say anything to get elected, then carry on with the opposite. Joe is so caught up in being premier, he would trade both of his kidneys for the opportunity.
As an educated individual, who previously supported the PPM two election cycles ago… never ever would I do so again.
If the voters put this party back in power, they deserve the suffering that will surely follow. Think you all are “being left behind now”, just wait.
I guess that’s why many are stuck in the mess they currently (and have always) been in. Simply can’t help themselves in making piss poor decisions.
applause
Ppm a political party in the Cayman Islands run by itself for itself
this sums it up nicely
Everyone knows Joey is a developer / realtors best friend.
I understand that the PPM manifesto will outline a series of pro-environment measures designed to also completely eliminate the corrupting influences of developers and other special interests from politics in Cayman……
If anybody believes that I have some lovely rainbow covered mountaintop real estate for sale in Savannah.
Why did the PPM have to form a government of national unity? Hmm?
Remember the many Caymanians who lost their homes to foreclosure, after big companies left Cayman in the wake of the 2008 economic collapse? The PPM saw what was happening in the US, and instead of quickly putting protective measures in place to minimize unemployment, the WP board started rolling out cheap labor permits like Halloween candy. Revenue. Everything was about the revenue. People called the MLAs, called the talk shows, wrote to the newspapers, sounding the alarm. What did the PPM do? Before we knew it, Caymanians could not get a job. No one better turn up at my door wearing PPM colors. Nothing personal, but no, thank you.
PPM is the only viable option. People can slate them all they want, but don’t think Dan Scott’s party full of rich people, who are completely out of touch with real life struggles or Wayne’s Party who have screwed Cayman for the last 4 years, delivered NOTHING that they promised in order to win the last election will be better for you. No government party can please everybody, but mark my words, for betterment of the country, PPM are the best option at the moment, especially since we require stability. The other two parties will 100 percent be involved in power struggles if elected, that’s if they even make it to Election Day without a fall out which I’m betting will likely happen.
To 7:38pm: No, thank you.
7:38, really?! Yes, Wayne’s group might not be the option…. but there is still time before we know who will be running.
Making the preemptive decision to support this bunch is a huge mistake.
All most of our politicians want is to get power so that they can cut deals with developers and other special interests in order to line their own pockets. We need to change things so that can’t happen.
We? Do it then…Cayman’s voters always expect someone else to expend the minimal effort.
PPM need to throw in the towel and retire. They can all afford to do so I’m sure…
All the years they was in power they did nothing but raise their wages to the highest in the world. The Dump is worse than ever. cost if living is through the roof, traffic and crime are are worse. Vote them out, vote all them out.
Question for Joey – how do we keep politicians from selling out the country and filling their own pockets?
Answer to 3.20.
Don’t elect Mac Bush into office.
He is but one – he has acolytes and he has been the role model for too many others –
Surely the answer is to change the system so that filling ones own pockets becomes harder for politicians
We need a national vote for Parliamentary representatives. It takes too few votes to elect idiots in too many tiny electoral districts.
Don’t worry there lots of idiots running for office in all of the constituencies big and small.
Joey’s charming smile and dimples can make people believe he has a moral character where it’s people and country first, the right thing no matter what his handlers want, not his PPM party and self interests.
It’s evident, just look at his past actions and comments since being elected to political office.
‘In our everyday lives, when we are behind closed doors, and our ideals are not publicly put to the test – when no one else can see us – we are forced to realize it takes more than courage to uphold our beliefs; it takes a consistent character’.
Joey doesn’t have a consistent character, proper professional qualifications, sufficient experience as a competent leader and clear evidence of a track record of poor decisions means him and the PPM are not suitable to lead the Cayman Islands.
He was a disaster as Planning Minister and gave away millions in concessions and rebates to wealthy developers, business associates, sponsors and close friends.
We know what he did and Cayman cannot afford for him and his party to do more damage to the country looking at the previous experiences.
Well said. He is a self involved narcissist who cares about Joey first second third and only. He lacks basic manners needed to lead others and will not hesitate to disrespect you if he thinks you are of no value.
6:56 I have to agree. If you say hello to him, you can see that he is straining to reply.
I have proved that many times.
So…. other than demanding more and more and more development and environment destruction…. what does the rest of the PPM manifesto say?
Since when did the “environment” pay your grocery and light bills..?
My bills are paid because of development which , apart from the financial industry,is what funds government and NAU.
Official Dispatch: The PPM Candidate Slate—A Spectacle of Absurdist Theatre
Citizens of the realm, brace yourselves for the unveiling of the People’s Progressive Movement’s candidate slate, a production that might as well be titled ‘Budget Zombie Apocalypse: Cayman Edition.’
This isn’t just politics; it’s performance art. A lineup of ideas, concepts, and visions so devoid of life that even the most overworked special effects department couldn’t make them convincing. The same cast of characters shuffles forward, dusting off decade-old scripts while groaning phrases like ‘national development’ and ‘economic growth’—undead buzzwords from the crypt of mediocrity.
But don’t be fooled! This national meeting isn’t about innovation or progress.
No, this is a showcase of recycled props and reanimated policies, cobbled together with all the flair of a student film on a shoestring budget.
If ever there was an Absurdistan-approved display of governance, this would be it: leaders who rise, stumble, and moan their way through public service like extras in a bad horror movie.
Meanwhile, the island groans under the weight of real issues:
• Housing so unattainable it might as well be a subplot in ‘The Lost City of Gold.’
• Education systems producing graduates ill-equipped to compete in a modern global economy.
• Red tape so entangled that even the most enthusiastic developers give up halfway, claiming they’ve found Atlantis instead.
And yet, here we are, served the same old, same old, wrapped in a shroud of pomp and ceremony as if we wouldn’t notice.
This, dear citizens, is governance by Absurdistan’s finest standards: endlessly entertaining, thoroughly nonsensical, and utterly detached from the needs of its people.
One can only hope the curtains will close on this performance before the zombies realize they’ve forgotten their lines—or worse, that they never had any to begin with.”
I wouldn’t vote for any associated with Joey hew.
Not a chance. Ppm better not come knocking on my door.
Joey Hew is the local JLP proxy of Cayman.
We don’t need to turn Cayman into another Jamaica it is a failed state full of corruption and violence. Cayman is better than that rubbish.
1.11 …in that case I take it that you won’t be voting for Saunders.
stop getting your news from CMR. Where has Mr.Saunders ever engaged in that sort of politics? It’s 2025, learn to think for yourself instead of recycling foolishness heard from elsewhere.
Saunders’ words and behavior leave no doubt as to his ambitions.
Are you even serious? Saunders has ALWAYS engaged in the dirtiest of politics – or politricks – which is a more apt description of his strategies and behaviors. Truly one of the worst – taking a page out of Mac’s book, adding some Jamaican politics style editing, and then publishing under a flimsy cover of Caymanian populism. Don’t let the fruitcakes and shallow family man persona fool you! A wolf in wolf’s clothing.
I think this might be a typo
It was founded in 2022 in the wake of the 2001…
CNS: Yes, it was a typo. Sorry!
Anyone voting for the absentee MP to be premier has to be borderline braindead. He literally has the closest ties possible to the big dog at CUC. You think he wants to make things better for us, at the expense of his immediate family?
He also is fully on board with allowing FCCA to ruin the rest of our marine environment, and continue to strong-arm our Caymanian watersports/tour operators out of a living since the cruise lines work with their “preferred” operators, which are only the biggest companies that can afford to kowtow to the cruise lines and offer them lower prices than many of the original Caymanian operators can.
He is a terrible choice even if you don’t consider the fact that he is bought and paid for by Dart, to the point of virtually signing a blank cheque (at our expense) for Dart to be responsible for WTE, even though they have no expertise and had no actual plan developed, and couldn’t even finish a contract to confirm what work was expected etc.
Since he was pivotal in those farcical Dart/WTE “agreements” being signed, where has he been? Anyone seen him around? People in his constituency say they can’t hear from him. He has barely participated in our democracy (he is absent from our increasingly-rare parliament sessions more often than not), and we are supposed to entrust him with the direction of our country?
I only hope that when he comes around trying to buy your votes, that you will make the smart decision and run him off your front porch.
ayyy quoted again 💪
This video of his lies and misdirection defines Joey as a politician. He cannot be trusted simple. PPM will not for the majority because we cannot trust PPM especially with Hew as its leader.
https://caymannewsservice.com/2024/08/ppm-dismisses-responsibility-for-regen-disaster/
Joey may have put in his time waiting for the top job but the reality is that the vast majority of the voting population do not see him as a Premier that would act in the interests of Caymanians and therefore the PPM is not electable with Joey as leader.
And now with possibility of Ken Bryan joining the group.
Oldest ‘still functioning’ party, after the other MPs in 2002 formed ‘the first party in Cayman’s current political era’, the United Democratic Party (UDP). – I’m no fan of parties but (and leaving aside ‘teams’ from the 1980s/90s) we need to remember that Cayman had parties previously as well. They may not have lasted long but lets not forget our history.
I’ll tell you. Most of the same useless crap we’ve had for countless years. Just recycled.
No more Wayne and the Quitters
No more Dan and his Invisible men
PPM all the way
With Ken Bryan as premier – not🤣
The PPM owes the people of the Cayman Islands a cheque for $30 mln for their ReGen misfire, then we can talk about them having any political footing.
Hew will not do anything but help out Dart and the rest of the rich developers. That is the way the PPM operates!
Watch for Ju-Ju, Kenny and Jon-Jon to be joining up with them on the campaign trail or after election night results.
Dart owes the Government (if they had the balls) about $54,750,000 for the old derelict Hyatt building in a tourism zone ($25k a day for 6 years) so perhaps they could offset and pay the CIG, and good people of our beloved isle, $24,750,000 and we’ll call it evens.
* Development and Planning Law (2017 Revision) Part IIIA (Land Adversely Affecting Amenity of Neighbourhood) Section 29A.
How much does the government owe the people for the Glasshouse?
Since the receivable and the payable will be the same value…
Mac was in power and could have seen to that, but he was owned by Dart .
6 years? What kind of Delorean accounting is that?
This is so exciting. Which of the career politicians who’ve definitely not overseen or laid the foundations over the past 20 years are going to run again and take CI$200K annually from us whilst constantly going on holiday?
can’t wait
Dan and his party all the way PPM had 12 years and did nothing about the high cost of living, the Dump etc.etc.Nothing was did on Brac West, no roads on Bluff West of west End school, no toilets at Kidco boat ramp. nothing more done to Scott’s Dock. NEED CHANGE. VOTE DAN AND HIS PARTY ALL THE WAY .
What party? What experience? Get serious.