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Opposition calls out Premier’s lack of integrity and cowardice in failing to remove Speaker of the House
The Leader of the Opposition has blasted the Premier for his lack of integrity and cowardice in failing to remove the Speaker of the House.
Leader of the Opposition, Mr Arden McLean said:
“Respecting that the Premier, bound by collective responsibility and beholden to his electoral caucus, would need time to discuss Speaker Bush’s recent convictions, I deliberately delayed writing to him on the matter.
- it soon became apparent that the Premier had no intention of removing Speaker Bush; despite the continued public outrage and Speaker Bush's subsequent convictions. Accordingly, on 24 December 2020 I wrote to the Premier asking him to exercise the leadership needed and remove Speaker Bush.
On 4 January 2021 the Premier replied, not to the concerns raised in my letter about the appropriateness of Speaker Bush remaining in his highly regarded post, but rather to question the authority on which I wrote to him as Leader of the Opposition.
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 the full support of the Premier and his Unity Government.
The Premier’s willingness to sacrifice his integrity/principles on the altar of political expediency should worry him. In 4 months we will have a General Election, and it is quite clear that current members of this Unity Government are only united in their desire to protect their self-interests. 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.
The Premier's refusal to remove Speaker Bush, whilst clearly politically convenient, lacks integrity and is an act of cowardice."
