PACT heads off coup as Opposition boycotts Parliament

The PACT government resolved its internal differences and united to head off an attempt to oust it from power on Friday.

The Opposition were absent from the Chamber, boycotting the session in protest at McKeeva Bush’s continued presence in the Speaker’s Chair – his resignation not taking effect until 30 Nov.

Criticising the decision not to allow a vote of no-confidence in the Speaker, Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart claimed the House was becoming a “kangaroo parliament”. At a later press conference, the six Progressives Members said they would not attend Parliament until Bush is gone from the Speaker’s role.

Any hopes the Opposition might have harboured of getting support for a change in administration appeared to have been scotched before the session began.

An unusual ‘motion of confidence’ in the government, tabled by Bodden Town legislator Dwayne Seymour, was debated and unanimously approved on Friday.

Seymour, one of the MPs considered most likely to switch sides, effectively signalled the end of what Premier Wayne Panton has described as a “power grab” with the motion.

Former Health Minister Seymour, who was elected as an independent, running alongside the Progressives group, crossed the aisle to join the PACT coalition in November last year.

He appeared to acknowledge in his speech that he had contemplated switching back, saying he had “tried to help them (the Progressives) in a clandestine manner”.

Former Premier Alden McLaughlin later claimed that Seymour had approached him on numerous occasions about rejoining the Progressives and toppling Panton. He also claimed Panton himself had approached Progressives’ leader Roy McTaggart about a possible alliance.

But those divisions appear to have been patched up and Seymour insisted he had faith in the PACT government and had put the stability of the islands first.

Politics is a ‘numbers game’

“I am uniquely qualified to move this motion,” he said in Friday’s sitting of the House.

“I have been on the government side, the Opposition side and sometimes on the fence itself.”

Seymour said the political arithmetic had not added up for the Progressives.

“Politics is essentially a numbers game. Who has the greatest number wins the government,” he said.

“What is the purpose of coming to this House with just five signatures? They (the Progressives) should have been sure they had the 11 needed to take over.”

The order paper for Friday’s session listed just two motions – the Progressives’ vote of no-confidence in the government and the government’s counter-motion of confidence in itself, with the latter to be heard first.

With the Progressives absent from the House and the substantive question around the stability of the government answered – at least for now – the debate took on a celebratory feel for the government MPs.

Seymour, East End legislator Isaac Rankine and MP for Savannah Heather Bodden spent considerable time listing the achievements of the government and outlining goals.

‘Wake-up call’ for PACT

Seymour did give some insight into the closed-door conversations that had taken place over the past weeks, saying the premier had accepted a “reset was needed”.

He acknowledged Panton has “the hardest job” to “control all these independent thinkers who express themselves in colour at times” but said every member of the team was now valued as equals.

“This is a wake-up call for the PACT government to work best for this country,” he added.

Seymour insisted his decision to bring the motion was in the best interests of the stability of the government and the jurisdiction. He said PACT had a diversity of opinions and skill-sets and was well-placed to address the cost-of-living, housing and traffic problems – among other issues – that Cayman is facing.

Rankine – another MP who had initially seemed likely to side with the Progressives in the aftermath of the last election – seconded the motion reaffirming his commitment to the PACT coalition.

He said he had guaranteed his constituents that he would do his best to be part of government and prevent East End’s needs from being put on the “back burner”.

Rankine said the area had benefited from road improvements and upgrades to its community centres since he had joined the government.

No other MPs spoke on the motion, which received unanimous support form the 12 MPs present on the floor of the House as it came to a vote Friday afternoon.

Speaker’s resignation accepted

A separate motion to accept Speaker Bush’s resignation, effective from the end of November, was also unanimously approved.

It was allegations of inappropriate behaviour from Bush at a government function that sparked the series of motions and counter-motions.

He confirmed Wednesday he will vacate the Speaker’s Chair and that he will join the government benches as an MP.

The Opposition leader said Bush should have departed immediately, per parliamentary standing orders, and criticised government for allowing him to oversee Friday’s session.

In a press release explaining the group’s absence from the House on Friday, he also criticised the decision to prevent a motion of no-confidence in Bush from being heard, accusing the government of being “desperate and heavy-handed”.

“Not only have they banded together to prevent a motion of lack of confidence in the Speaker from being debated but they have done so on a false premise. This refusal of a valid motion is inexcusable and a violation of all democratic principles of Parliament,” he wrote.

“I regret to say that under this Government we are rapidly becoming a ‘kangaroo parliament’….We would be abdicating our duty to the country to participate in the sham that today’s meeting of Parliament has become.”