Jump to content

Virgin Islands Party

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Virgin Islands Party
ChairmanNatalio Wheatley
Founded2 March 1971
Split fromUnited Party
House of Assembly
6 / 13

The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is a political party in the British Virgin Islands.[1] It is presently led by Natalio Wheatley.[2] It is the oldest active political party in the British Virgin Islands,[3] and it has won more general elections (seven) than any other political party in the British Virgin Islands.[4]

The party was founded by Lavity Stoutt in 1971 when Stoutt left the United Party in order to contest 1971 election after a dispute with Conrad Maduro as to who should be leader of the United Party.[5] The Virgin Islands Party led by Stoutt lost to coalitions led by Willard Wheatley in the 1971 and 1975 general elections but triumphed in the 1979 general election. Stoutt continued to lead the party until his death in 1995. After Stoutt's death, leadership of the party fell to Ralph T. O'Neal who led it until he stepped down on 28 May 2014.[6]

Prior to the 2011 general election the Virgin Islands Party had held power in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) for all except for 15 years since the adoption of the modern Legislative Council in 1967. Between its foundation in 1971 and 2014, the party had only two leaders: Lavity Stoutt and Ralph O'Neal; these two-party leaders are also the two longest serving elected politicians in BVI history and the first two leaders of the territory to have served more than two terms as either Chief Minister or Premier.[7] On 28 May 2014 Julian Fraser took over from Ralph O'Neal,[6] and led the party to defeat in the 2015 general election. On 30 November 2016 Andrew Fahie replaced Julian Fraser as party leader,[8] making Fraser the first (and, so far, the only) leader of the Virgin Islands Party not to ascend to either the Chief Minister or Premiership.

The party most recently held power after the 2019 general election held on 25 February 2019 winning 8 seats out of 13.

Virgin Islands Party had held power continuously from 1986 until 2003, winning four consecutive general elections, which is the longest unbroken streak in government for a political party in the British Virgin Islands.

Party leaders

[edit]

The party has had five leaders in its history. Four of the five leaders have served as Chief Minister or Premier of the Virgin Islands on at least one occasion. All five leaders have been men. The party's early history was dominated by two men: Lavity Stoutt who founded the party and led it until his death in 2015, and Ralph O'Neal who led the party through the next four general elections. No other leader has led the party in more than one general election.

VIP Party Leaders
Term Leader General Elections Contested General Elections Won
1971 - 1995 Lavity Stoutt 7 4
1995 - 2014 Ralph T. O'Neal 4 2
2014 - 2016 Julian Fraser 1 0
2016 - 2022 Andrew Fahie 1 1
2022 - Present Natalio Wheatley 1 1

Electoral history

[edit]

House of Assembly elections

[edit]
Election Party leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
1971 H. Lavity Stoutt
2 / 7
New Increase 2nd Opposition
1975 1,591 53.82%
3 / 7
Increase 1 Increase 1st Opposition
1979 733 27.78%
4 / 9
Increase 1 Steady 1st Majority government
1983 1,355 44.90%
4 / 9
Steady 0 Steady 1st Opposition
1986 1,838 46.63%
5 / 9
Increase 1 Steady 1st Majority government
1990 2,409 46.54%
6 / 9
Increase 1 Steady 1st Supermajority government
1995 2,122 41.76%
6 / 13
Steady 0 Steady 1st Majority government
1999 Ralph T. O'Neal 2,649 42.34%
7 / 13
Increase 1 Steady 1st Majority government
2003 3,772 52.03%
5 / 13
Decrease 2 Decrease 2nd Opposition
2007 3,838 52.63%
10 / 13
Increase 5 Increase 1st Supermajority government
2011 3,864 43.59%
4 / 13
Decrease 6 Decrease 2nd Opposition
2015 Julian Fraser 2,828 30.94%
2 / 13
Decrease 2 Steady 2nd Opposition
2019 Andrew Fahie 4,855 50.03%
8 / 13
Increase 6 Increase 1st Majority government
2023 Natalio Wheatley 3,632 39.60%
6 / 13
Decrease 2 Steady 1st Coalition government

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Political Parties in the British Virgin Islands". Caribbean Elections. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  2. ^ "VIP seeks Fahie's resignation! Party backs Wheatley for premiership". bvinews.com. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Lawyer considers future of VIP". BVI Beacon. 30 April 2014. The VIP is the oldest active political party in the VI. It was founded in 1971.
  4. ^ "Lawyer considers future of VIP". BVI Beacon. 30 April 2014. Prior to the 2011 general elections, the VIP had held power in the territory for all except 15 years since the adoption of the modern Legislative Council in 1967.
  5. ^ Conrad Maduro was originally the leader of the party, but failed to win a seat in the 1967 general election; accordingly Lavity Stoutt was appointed Chief Minister. Lavity Stoutt was unwilling to relinquish the role if Maduro was to win a seat in the following election and so formed his own party.
  6. ^ a b "We Have A War To Fight; I Need Warriors - Julian Fraser; Fahie Promises Support". 28 May 2014.
  7. ^ Orlando Smith has now also served more than two terms.
  8. ^ "Fahie beats Fraser". BVI News. 30 November 2016.