Opposition Leader Arden McLean has called for House Speaker McKeeva Bush’s removal from his post, likening Premier Alden McLaughlin’s inaction on the matter to a “lack of integrity and cowardice”.
McLean, in a statement Wednesday night, said, “No Member of Parliament should be allowed to remain in a publicly funded position following a guilty conviction, much less one involving violence against women.”
This is the first formal position issued by the Opposition since Bush’s conviction. Only North Side MP Ezzard Miller had previously spoken out against the West Bay West MP.
Bush was handed a suspended sentence in December for three assault charges levelled against him, following an altercation with the female manager at Coral Beach Bar in February 2020. He was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment on each assault charge, to run concurrently, which was suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to adhere to a curfew of 6pm to 6am, Monday through Sunday, for two months, and was fined $700 for disorderly conduct.
McLean said he deliberately delayed writing to McLaughlin on the matter “respecting that the Premier, bound by collective responsibility and beholden to his electoral caucus, would need time to discuss Speaker Bush’s recent convictions”.
McLaughlin, at a press conference in December, when asked about Bush’s conviction, said, “I am not sure the country will be well served now by my taking action which precipitates the collapse of the government and the holding of early elections. So, we have to bear that in mind.”
However, according to McLean’s statement, on 24 Dec., three days after Bush was convicted and sentenced, he wrote to the premier asking that the West Bay West MP be removed.
This was after, in his view, it “became apparent that the Premier had no intention of removing Speaker Bush; despite the continued public outrage and Speaker Bush’s subsequent convictions”.
In his letter, which was released with the statement, McLean said, “The recent conviction of the Speaker, Hon. W. McKeeva Bush OBE, JP, MP seriously undermines those he represents, his colleagues, and crucially his position in the Parliament.”
On 4 Jan. 2021, McLaughlin replied. That letter was also released, questioning whether McLean had the “constitutional authority” to make such a request, querying his standing as the Leader of the Opposition.
“Reports recently made to me bring into question on whose behalf your letter has been written, and indeed raise concerns as to your authority to write in such terms on behalf of the Official Opposition. Consequently, before I respond substantively, I would be grateful if you would confirm which members of the Official Opposition support your demand for the removal of Speaker Bush,” McLaughlin wrote.
He pointed out that the Leader of the Opposition is a constitutional office which requires compliance with the constitutional requirements of section 68 of the Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009 (as amended).
“In short, as Leader of the Opposition you must continue to enjoy the support of the majority of the members of Parliament who are in opposition to the government. I would be grateful if you would confirm that is still the case,” McLaughlin said in his letter.
McLean, in his statement, took offense to the premier’s questioning of his leadership of the Opposition bench, contending that McLaughlin did not reply to the concerns raised in his letter about the appropriateness of Speaker Bush remaining in his “highly regarded post.”
“The Premier’s response displays a breath-taking level of contempt for the thousands of decent, hard-working Caymanians rightly offended and appalled that Speaker Bush continues to hold not only the highest post in Parliament but also [with] the full support of the Premier and his Unity Government,” he said.
McLean responded to McLaughlin’s letter on 5 Jan., saying it was not the premier’s place to question his authority.
He suggested in his statement that “the Premier’s willingness to sacrifice his integrity/principles on the altar of political expediency should worry him”.
McLean said in four months Cayman will go to the polls and in his view “it is quite clear that current members of this Unity Government are only united in their desire to protect their self-interests”.
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Nice work McClean đź‘Ť
As if ‘questioning whether McLean had the “constitutional authority” to make such a request’ is even considered acceptable.
This is the leader of the opposition.
It’s his job.