There is a virtual civil war taking place within the opposition United Progressive
Party (UPP) and MP Anthony Smith was the ‘collateral damage’ in that ongoing
battle for supremacy within the party.
That’s the assessment of Prime Minister Gaston Browne as he addressed the recent
move by MP Smith to become an independent member of the House of
Representative by resigning his UPP Whip. Smith has since entered into an
accommodation with the ABLP Administration and he has accepted an
appointment to the Cabinet as the Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and
Barbuda Affairs.
According to PM Browne there are elements within the leadership of the UPP who
are concerned that MP Richard Lewis may again, potentially challenge UPP
Political Leader, Jamale Pringle, at some point in the future and therefore they are
taking a preemptive strike to nullify his position within the party. In fact, the prime
minister has asserted that there are moves afoot to expel him from the party and
what happened to MP Smith was because of his allegiance to MP Lewis.
“The Hon. Anthony Smith was operating within a very toxic and cannibalistic
environment; in fact, there is literally a civil war within the UPP at this time, and
what we did, is that we gave him a lifeline,” PM Browne stated.
The prime minister recalled that over the past 18 months, he had stated openly that
although MP Smith sat on the opposition benches, he always saw him as someone
with talent, and much to give to the nation of Antigua and Barbuda. He added that
Smith always had ambitions of working along with the ABLP and as Political
Leader, he gave the assurance that the party would be happy to accommodate him,
if, and whenever, he made that decision.
He recalled, too, that MP Smith’s roots run deep in the ABLP through his father,
Anthony Smith Snr., and his grandmother, Genevieve Smith, a much beloved and
respected teacher in Potters.
“When you are socialized as a labourite and you are young man with significant
capacity with a commitment to serve the people and find yourself in a hostile,
cannibalistic environment where certain members of the UPP are trying to
cannibalise both he and Richard Lewis, he had no choice but to leave. He was
collateral damage as the person they wanted to damage was Richard Lewis,” PM
Browne explained.
The prime minister further revealed that the ABLP made overtures to MP Smith
advising him that his best interests will be served by resigning from the UPP and
entering into an accommodation with the ABLP Administration. The rest is
history!
