New opposition unveils Anguilla campaign

Launch by a united opposition in Anguilla reportedly forced the ruling Anguilla United Front into a strategic emergency session.

Monday, 7th October 2019

An impressive launch by a united opposition in Anguilla reportedly forced the ruling Anguilla United Front into a strategic emergency session Sunday. The opposition, now under the banner of the Anguilla Progressive Movement (APM), led by medical doctor Elis Webster, was officially unveiled at a ceremony at Island Harbor on Saturday night. The APM presented a full sale of seven district candidates, with the announcement that the four at large candidates, will be unveiled in a few weeks. Under a new election system, Anguilla will be having At Large candidates for the first time, when general elections are called next year. It is a system already used in such places as the British Virgin Islands. The APM is an amalgamation of the Anguilla United Movement of now-retired leader Hubert Hughes, and mainly some disgruntle former support of the incumbent Anguilla United Front and some young activists. Hayden Hughes, some of Hubert, and Jerome Roberts who served in previous AUM cabinets are among the seven candidates unveiled. The list includes a slew of newcomers including DeeAnn Kentish-Rogers, the 2018 UK Miss Universe – the first black woman to ever win the title. An accomplished and lawyer, Kentish-Rogers has been announced as the candidate that will challenge current Chief Minister Victor Banks in District 4. “We shall salute the past on our way to a better future,” Kentish-Rogers declared on Saturday night. Banks who had declared Kentish-Rogers as a national treasure now is expected to face one of the most awkward fights of his long political career. “Panic has set in among Mr Banks and the AUF, and they better be,” a spokesman for the APM said Monday. One ruling party official downplayed Sunday’s meeting, saying it was nothing out of the ordinary. A recent public opinion poll there showed that most Anguillans believed that the British territory is on the wrong track. “The excitement and the energy from Saturday night have made it clearer than ever that Anguillans are hungry for change, and a people will get what they deserve,” Roberts said in an interview Monday. “The APM is a direct result of the sentiments we have heard from all around, that the status quo can’t remain,” said Kimberley Fleming, one of the new candidates who will come in District 7 against former cricketer Cardigan Connor. “There is a big expectation here, and I am glad to be part of a team that is unveiling a broad vision for Anguilla,” she said. The PM was launched at an event that also featured a gospel concert headlined by US-based Vincentian Bridget Blucher. Also appearing at the event was the highly acclaimed local singer Deanna Mussington, a UK X-Factor stand out from a few seasons ago. Mussington sand the cover of the Sam Cook original: A Change is Gonna Come. In his address on Saturday night, leader Webster declared: “When the story of change is told, they will note that tonight was the time the first chapter was written. He added: “We have not just unveiled a new movement tonight. We have unveiled a new spirit. We stood up, and kissed the future.”