National Leader Douglas: ‘Labour Party cares for people over the years’ and ‘Executive is united’

Political Leader of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas (l) and Party Chairman, Senior Minister, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris at Wednesday’s Press Conference.

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, FEBRUARY 23RD 2012 (CUOPM) – The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party which this year is celebrating its 80th year of existence is a political organisation that cares for the people over the years.

“It is the very motto that embodied the activities of the party as founded, ‘For the Good that we can do’ and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis have seen the tremendous good that this Labour Party has done over the years,” said National Political Leader of the governing St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, who noted there was a time when “we were in opposition for 15 years and the political historians would have looked at the causes which influenced the people of St. Kitts to vote against the Labour Party and for another Party.”

Responding to questions from the media at a Press Conference at Masses House – headquarters of the Labour Party Secretariat and the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Union, Dr. Douglas said the 80-year-old political organisation believes in social justice.

“It will always remain the bedrock principle of our party. We believe that the people of this country especially those who do not have a voice must be given a voice by the Party in Government or the Party out of Government,” said Dr. Douglas, who pointed out that those who do not have the means by which they can sustain their daily lives must be assisted.

“That is why even though we are going through this period of new economic adjustment and new economic programmes, we have built into the social safety nets as we believe that the government has a responsibility to ensure those who are notable to provide for themselves in several areas, that they have to be provided for through the instrumentality and intervention of the government,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

Dr. Douglas referring to an earlier statement by the Labour Party Chairman, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris on the issue of the poverty level noted that it remains one of the critical challenges of the Government.

“How can we ensure that as a Party responsible to a large extent of expanding social justice that we do get rid of poverty? That is why I said in my own opening statements, we are a Party that would continue to transform our people moving from poverty to working class, working class to middle class, middle class to those who can provide, upper class those who can then go beyond that to become wealthy because at the end of the day people must be able to move through the system socially,” said Dr. Douglas.

He said the Labour Party is wedded with the basic principle of social justice and it must perpetuate every level of society, every institution of government, every facet of governance that we are pursuing,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

Responding to another question, Prime Minister Douglas stated that the Executive of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party “is united.”

“Of course the executive of the party is united. The executive have been elected by the people of the party in the last conference which was in May of last year. If you are referring to people having different views, the Labour Party has always been like that, has always had people with different views. That’s why we are a successful Party,” said the Labour Party Leader and Prime Minister.