Update: Dwayne Seymour joins PACT government

When Parliament resumes on Wednesday morning, Bodden Town East MP Dwayne Seymour will have a new seat on the government bench, as he announced Tuesday night that he was crossing the aisle and leaving the Opposition.

Seymour, who was being wooed openly by PACT ministers Chris Saunders and Jay Ebanks during the budget debate on Monday, announced that he will join the government during a public meeting in his constituency on Tuesday evening.

He said he took his decision to his constituents to get their approval.

“My people are suffering and how ever I can help them… I will,” he said.

He said no one has messaged him encouraging him to stay with the Opposition, since the lobbying began and his meeting started.

Seymour asked the crowd repeatedly if he should join and those present replied “yes”.

“The message is clear, let’s get working and let the PACT government pack Bodden Town East with treasures,” Seymour shouted.

Seymour says he was ‘wanted’ by both sides

For seven months, Seymour has held fast with the Progressives, even in the face of pressure to join PACT after he retained his seat in April’s vote.

He said government members have been lobbying him to join the government bench since then and he reminded those in attendance at the Tuesday evening meeting that “you need to be on the field to be re-elected”.

Seymour said he knew that “this decision won’t be popular with everyone” but he appealed for constituents to trust him.

He acknowledged that some Bodden Town East constituents will be “uneasy” with his decision, as they are connected to the Progressives-led coalition.

In laying the foundation for his exit from the Progressives’ alliance, he promised to make it work in the best interests of people in his district, including getting a school hall in Bodden Town.

He said, “I am your representative and no coalition in the world would care for you more than John John”.

Seymour said he had no other option, but to call a meeting on short notice to consult with constituents, after the government had been vocal in calling him to join with them.

Saying it was not an “easy decision” Seymour called himself a loyal person, but he said he could only go so far.

“I was quite fine sitting in the Opposition, and I have achieved a lot,” he said, but, he added that the calls from Ebanks and Saunders, which he described as “crafty at best”, had moved him.

He said the ministers “adopted that from Alden McLaughlin,” but that was just a reminder that for him, as an independent, he “could do something good for his constituency and country”.

He thanked former premier McLaughlin and the Progressives for their support and the experience that he was able to gain as a minister under the previous administration.

Premier Wayne Panton, speaking at the meeting, said it was an important step to “unite” the country as he, too, pleaded with the constituents present to support Seymour.

Minister for Education Juliana O’Connor-Connolly welcomed Seymour and said she was “elated” to have him on the PACT government, to be able to work with him again.

She also opened the door to more defections from the Opposition.

“If there are any more of the six on the back bench, come along,” she said, stressing that the Cayman Islands needed all hands on deck.

“Join us,” she urged.

The Opposition bench, led by Progressives leader Roy McTaggart, now comprises deputy leader George Town North MP Joey Hew, Red Bay MP McLaughlin, George Town South MP Barbara Conolly, George Town West MP David Wight, and Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman MP Moses Kirkconnell.

Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, speaking at the meeting, said they could not bargain with a ministerial post, but offered Seymour the chance to work within his ministry on the transport brief.

He said there are some other “surprises” from other ministers that Seymour can also assist with.

Seymour, who served as minister for health, environment, culture and housing, in the McLaughlin-led National Unity government, campaigned with the Progressives as an alliance member during the April general elections.

Saunders, in making his case for Seymour to cross over, said housing is a big issue in Cayman and with the pledge for 100 homes per year over the next four years from government “we need John John to help with that”.

The Bodden Town West MP said the former minister was not afraid to “work”.

He said Seymour could also do more on the international stage, as government seeks to expand its profile overseas.

The Compass reached out to Opposition Leader McTaggart for comment Tuesday night; he issued a short statement wishing Seymour the best.

“I am grateful for the time that Mr. Seymour spent as a Minister with the Progressives-led coalition government from 2017 to 2021, and as a member of the Opposition following the 2021 elections. I consider him a friend and wish him well,” McTaggart said.