Mek Wi Talk: Jamaica Labour Party's 81st Annual Conference

Mek Wi Talk: Jamaica Labour Party's 81st Annual Conference
JLP hosts conference today amid growing political heat
Holness to address policy, bread-and-butter issues as general election looms
Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Chairman Robert Montague says the ruling party remains upbeat as thousands of party delegates and supporters will gather at the National Arena today to celebrate the party’s achievements, hear plans for the future, and prepare for a rigorous campaign to secure a new term in office.
JLP hosts conference today amid growing political heat
Holness to address policy, bread-and-butter issues as general election looms
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Published:Sunday | November 24, 2024 | 12:10 AMErica Virtue - Senior Gleaner Writer
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Jamaica Labour Party supporters at the party’s 79th annual conference in November 2022.
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Jamaica Labour Party supporters at the party’s 79th annual conference in November 2022.
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Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Chairman Robert Montague says the ruling party remains upbeat as thousands of party delegates and supporters will gather at the National Arena today to celebrate the party’s achievements, hear plans for the future, and prepare for a rigorous campaign to secure a new term in office.
The party’s conference comes on the heels of two municipal by-election defeats to the opposition People’s National Party (PNP) in Aenon Town, Clarendon, and Morant Bay, St Thomas, on Friday. The JLP also restored its 49-seat majority in the House in two parliamentary races uncontested by the PNP but featuring independent candidates.
Outlining several achievements of his administration in an address last week, Prime Minister Andrew Holness - who is also the leader of the JLP - touted six pillars that he believes will be critical for transforming Jamaica into a modern, peaceful, productive prosperous society through the acronym ASPIRE. They include access to economic opportunity for all, safety and security of the people, infrastructure development, reform of bureaucracy, and economic diversification.
Montague told The Sunday Gleaner that today’s public session of the JLP’s annual conference is all about Holness, with the first order of business being his re-election as leader of the 81-year-old party.
“Conference day is the leader’s day,” he told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday. “But there are other individuals who will speak to other aspects of the party. So you will hear from the secretariat in terms of [election] readiness - the financial and administrative side, [and] candidates-wise.