Opposition Leader Calls Out Apparent Bias in Parliament

Shyne Barrow

In giving his reason for responding in the rudely brief manner in which he did, Barrow says that, notwithstanding his reaction, he is second to the prime minister in terms of the respect that should be commanded in the House of Representatives. 

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“When you go to the no-confidence motion, I submitted the no-confidence motion four days before the notice period which is four days, so eight days.  Now, again, we talk about respect, we talk about authority, according to our constitution, constitutionally, I am of a higher authority than the speaker.  It is the prime minister, then me.  The Governor General, that is a figurehead, but according to the constitution, that is the authority that I have.  So when the Leader of the Opposition, or any member of the house, any member of the house, but if we want to specify as to authority and who should get the reverence, if the Leader of Opposition submits a no-confidence motion way days ahead, do you really think that it is respectful, that it is responsible to respond to the Leader of the Opposition in the negative, the night before the sitting of the house?  That is prudent?  That is mature democracy?  That’s the same old, same old PUP and again, we have to call it what it is.  I don’t care what the elitist friends of the speaker have to say, she is a PUP.  She threw me out of the house the last time I said that.  But it is a fact, she was a PUP senator, she was a PUP candidate in Albert, she’s a lifelong, she’s a member of the United [Women’s Group], et cetera, et cetera.  So we, as the opposition have the right to call bias when we see it.  She has a responsibility not to waste the time of members of that house.  When we go into all of the difficulty of preparing our no-confidence motions, our adjournment interventions, those denials should not come arbitrarily, and that is the pattern that we have recognized.”