The United Workers Party is a conservative political party in Saint Lucia currently led by former Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet, who defeated former Prime Minister Stephenson King in a July 28, 2013 leadership election. The party was led previously by Sir John Compton, the party's founder.
United Workers Party | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Leader | Allen Chastanet |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Merger of | People's Progressive Party National Labour Movement |
| Ideology | Christian democracy Conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Regional affiliation | Caribbean Democrat Union |
| International affiliation | International Democracy Union |
| House of Assembly | 2 / 17 |
| Senate | 3 / 11 |
| Website | |
| uwpstlucia | |
History
editThe party was formed before the 1964 general elections by an alliance of the People's Progressive Party and the National Labour Movement, a splinter group founded by three members (John Compton, Vincent Monrose, and Maurice Mason) from the ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party.[1] John Compton was the political leader and Henry Giraudy was the chairman of the party. They won the elections, taking six of the eight seats. They remained in power after winning elections in 1969 and 1974, before losing the 1979 elections to the Labour Party. They returned to power after winning 14 of the 17 seats in the 1982 elections, and remained in power after two elections in 1987 and one in 1992. The Labour Party won the 1997 and 2001 elections, but the UWP regained power in the 2006 elections. In 2011 the UWP lost the election to Labour but regained power in the 2016 elections, taking 11 of the 17 seats in the House.[2]
The United Workers Party is a member of the Caribbean Democrat Union, the regional organization of the global conservative International Democracy Union.
Leaders
edit- John Compton (1964–1996)
- Vaughan Lewis (1996–1998)
- John Compton (1998[3]-2000)
- Morella Joseph (2000[4]-2001)
- Vaughan Lewis[4] (2001-2005)
- John Compton (2005–2007)
- Stephenson King (2007–2013)
- Allen Chastanet (2013–present)
United Workers Party Prime Ministers
editSymbol
- † Died in office
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Election | Term of office | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 | 
|
John Compton (1925-2007) |
— | 22 February 1979 | 2 July 1979 | 130 days | [5] |
| 1982 1987 (6 Apr.) 1987 (30 Apr.) 1992 |
3 May 1982 | 2 April 1996 | 13 years, 335 days | [5] | |||
| 2006 | 11 December 2006 | 7 September 2007 † | 270 days | [6][5] | |||
| 2 | 
|
Vaughan Lewis (born 1940) |
— | 2 April 1996 | 24 May 1997 | 1 year, 52 days | [5] |
| 3 | 
|
Stephenson King (born 1958) |
7 September 2007 | 30 November 2011 | 4 years, 84 days | [5] | |
| 4 | 
|
Allen Chastanet (born 1960) |
2016 | 7 June 2016 | 28 July 2021 | 5 years, 51 days | [7] |
Electoral history
editHouse of Assembly elections
edit| Election | Party leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | John Compton | 9,615 | 51.5% | 6 / 10
|
 6
|
1st
|
Majority government |
| 1969 | 13,328 | 58.1% | 6 / 10
|
|
1st
|
Majority government | |
| 1974 | 17,300 | 53.4% | 10 / 17
|
4
|
1st
|
Majority government | |
| 1979 | 19,706 | 43.8% | 5 / 17
|
 5
|
2nd
|
Opposition | |
| 1982 | 27,252 | 56.2% | 14 / 17
|
9
|
1st
|
Supermajority government | |
| 1987 (6 Apr) | 25,892 | 52.5% | 9 / 17
|
5
|
1st
|
Majority government | |
| 1987 (30 Apr) | 28,046 | 53.2% | 9 / 17
|
|
1st
|
Majority government | |
| 1992 | 33,562 | 56.7% | 11 / 17
|
2
|
1st
|
Majority government | |
| 1997 | Vaughan Lewis | 26,325 | 36.6% | 1 / 17
|
10
|
2nd
|
Opposition |
| 2001 | Morella Joseph | 23,007 | 37.8% | 3 / 17
|
2
|
2nd
|
Opposition |
| 2006 | John Compton | 38,894 | 51.3% | 11 / 17
|
8
|
1st
|
Majority government |
| 2011 | Stephenson King | 39,100 | 46.96% | 6 / 17
|
5
|
2nd
|
Opposition |
| 2016 | Allen Chastanet | 46,183 | 54.79% | 11 / 17
|
5
|
1st
|
Majority government |
| 2021 | 37.481 | 42.91% | 2 / 17
|
9
|
2nd
|
Opposition |
References
edit- ^ Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p582 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
- ^ "Saint Lucia General Elections". elections.gov.lc. Archived from the original on 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
- ^ "Freedom in the World 2002 - Saint Lucia". Refworld.
- ^ a b "Saint Lucia Modern History – aGoodDir International Directory".
- ^ a b c d e "Office of the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia". 25 June 2016. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016.
- ^ "John Compton, Prime Minister of St. Lucia, dies at 82". International Herald Tribune. 8 September 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ Charles, Jacqueline (7 June 2016). "Saint Lucia swears in new prime minister". Miami Herald. Miami Herald Media Company. Retrieved 12 June 2018.