THE INTENSITY of the battle for leadership within the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) took an unprecedented twist yesterday with an emailed letter to membership stating that opponents of Opposition Leader Mia Mottley may not be fit to hold public or any office at all.
The email was circulated to the several hundred members on the BLP’s database by Henderson Bovell, personal assistant to the Opposition Leader.
Bovell confirmed he sent out the email and stressed it was his personal view.
Under the title How Can We Bring Change To Barbados Without First Bringing Change To The BLP? the letter stated in part: “Mia Mottley is on a mission to stamp out corruption at all level[s)].
“If she now fails to get everyone on board, then it would simply suggest that those who might oppose her may not be fit to hold public or any office at all. Take the first step to real change now.
“With your vote, and the votes of your friends, family, and neighbours, we won’t just win the upcoming election for chairman of the BLP, but together we will change this country by being serious about wanting to win the next general election.
“The challenges our party and this country face – and our responsibility to take action – [have] now become even more urgent. Take the first important step to winning the next general election by voting for the person who can bring change to the BLP and Barbados.”
The letter went on to say: “We can change Barbados by first bringing the necessary change to our party . . . . Let’s get serious!
“If there are two persons in a race for chairmanship of the Barbados Labour Party and one is Mia Mottley, as a patriotic Barbadian and someone who wants the very best for the Labour Party and Barbados, I cannot see how you could ever have a difficulty with knowing who is the right person to support in the national interest.”
The letter, clearly marked internal mail, concluded: “. . . I believe in a simple idea – that each and every one of us, working together, has the power to move this country forward. But we will not be able to do that without first fixing the challenges that our party has ignored for far too long.”
The letter follows yesterday’s SUNDAY SUN Front Page revelation about a plot to prevent Mottley from winning her bid to become chairman of the BLP.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Bovell emphasised that Mottley was in no way associated with the letter, neither did she have knowledge of it.
