Dr. William Duguid will be the Barbados Labour Party’s candidate running for the Christ Church West seat at the general election, which is constitutionally due in 2018. 

 

“Do Good and Good shall Attend You” was the slogan that the many supporters of the newly reinstated nominee for Christ Church West wore on their shirts on Thursday night.

 

Proposed by the President of the Constituency branch, Lisa Jaggernauth and seconded by his former opponent, Tan Abed; Duguid was a clear winner and only choice for the constituents. 

 

Shouts of “We have back our King, our King is back home to the throne” resounded through the halls of Arthur Smith Primary – an institution which received many contributions from Duguid when he was MP for the area.

 

Jaggernauth noted that under previous representation, Christ Church West had it rough, but it remained resilient and strong. This, she says, is an indicator of what the BLP represents and shows what it intends to do, 

as it reclaims Barbados from the hands of the DLP. The common consensus from Jaggernauth and all members of the constituency was that they have good representation in Dr. Duguid owing much to his character.

 

Tan Abed, who contested the 2008 election opposing Dr. Duguid, was among the first to endorse him. Abed stated that after 30 years of suffering on the other side, it was a pleasure to serve with the BLP. He explained that he is loyal to those that are loyal to him and as a result, he has made the decision to help the Barbados Labour Party in any way possible.

 

It was then time for “The King” of the constituency to speak. Remarking that he almost had to drive back the tears, he noted that the experience was a moving one. Furthermore, he expounded that the decision was one that he prayed about and believed that it was God’s will that he returned to the political arena. Given this, Dr. Duguid is ready to serve. He is willing to serve those who will vote for him and those who will not because in his view, representation applies to everyone.

 

In expressing his dissatisfaction with the Government, Duguid described the current administration as being inept and short of ideas. Reiterating his point, he said that the Government has shown no sign of being able to restore and sustain the economy and to a greater degree was burdening citizens with taxes. 

 

Going further, Duguid charged that there should be no tax on health care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, since it was built on public land, equipped with public funds and workers are educated through the public system. In fact, Duguid’s plea is that it should be a birthright of Barbadians to access health care free of charge. 

 

Nevertheless, if the health care tax is to be implemented, Duguid stated that the percentage of income tax should be reduced, since some of that is already 

allocated to health care, and it is unsatisfactory that the Government should take “two bites at the cherry”.