West Indies federal elections, 1958
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All 45 seats in the House of Representatives
23 seats needed for a majority |
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.svg.png) Colours denote the party with the largest number of seats by island/island group. Grey denotes islands not part of the Federation. |
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Federal elections were held in the West Indies Federation for the first and only time on 25 March 1958. The result was a victory for the West Indies Federal Labour Party, which won 25 of the 45 seats in the West Indies House of Representatives.
Electoral system
Candidates were nominated on 28 February except in Trinidad and Tobago, where candidates were nominated on 3 March.
Except for Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, the multiple constituencies were island-wide and so Barbados had five constituencies, which covered the entire island, and Antigua had two constituencies covering the entire island. For Jamaica, the 17 constituencies were based on the 3 counties and the 14 parishes. For Trinidad and Tobago, the 10 seats were based on the counties, but some counties were represented individually, such as Tobago and Caron, and other counties were joined (such as the Eastern Counties) or divided (such as Saint George) for the purposes of the election.
Campaign
In preparation for the elections, two Federation-wide parties were organised as confederations of local political parties. Both were organised by Jamaican politicians: the West Indies Federal Labour Party by Norman Manley, and the Democratic Labour Party, by Alexander Bustamante. In broad terms, the WIFLP consisted of the urban-based parties throughout the Federation, while the DLP consisted of the rural-based parties. A small third party, the Federal Democratic Party, was founded in November 1957 by a group of Trinidadians.
The platforms for the two major parties were similar in many respects. Both advocated maintaining and strengthening ties with the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada (countries with which the islands had strong cultural and economic links); encouraging and expanding tourism; working to bring British Guiana and British Honduras into the Federation and to obtain loans, financial aid, and technical assistance. Despite the similarities, there were differences. The WIFLP had advocated the encouragement of agriculture while the DLP had promised a climate favourable to both private industry and labour, development of human and economic resources. The WIFLP promised to encourage the Bahamas (in addition to British Guiana and British Honduras) to join the Federation, whereas the DLP did not. The WIFLP also campaigned to establish a central bank for the extension of credit resources and advocated a democratic socialist society and full internal self-government for all the unit territories, whilst avoiding the issues of freedom of movement and a customs union. The DLP said nothing about full internal self-government, attacked socialism, wished to avoid high taxation (via loans and technical aid) and emphasized West Indian unity, freedom of worship and speech and encouragement of trade unions.
Results
The WIFLP won the election with 25 seats and was supported by the Barbados National Party, which won 1 seat; the DLP won 19 seats. The bulk of the WIFLP seats came from the smaller islands, and the DLP won in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
WIFLP leader Grantley Adams of Barbados became Prime Minister.
By island
| Islands |
BNP |
DLP |
WIFLP |
Total |
Representatives |
|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | – | 0 | 2 | 2 | Bradley Carrott, Novelle Richards[1] |
| Barbados | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | Grantly Adams, Florence Daysh, Harcourt Rocheford, V. B. Vaughn, Deighton Ward[1] |
| Dominica | – | 0 | 2 | 2 | Phyllis Byam Shand Allfrey, Edward Oliver LeBlanc[1] |
| Grenada | – | 0 | 2 | 2 | T. J. Gibbs, Lincoln Radix[1] |
| Jamaica (incl. Cayman Islands & Turks & Caicos Islands) | – | 11 | 6 | 17 | Clement Afflick, A. U. Belinfanti, Ralph Brown, Morris Cargill, Howard Cooke, Louis Patrick Delapenha, Lionel Densham, Frederick Duhaney, M. A. Hector, Ken Hill, Archdeacon Stanley Augustus Lennon, Robert Lightbourne, F. B. Ricketts, Sydney Stone, Constantine Swaby, E. H. Wakeland, Winston Williams[1] |
| Montserrat | – | 0 | 1 | 1 | William Bramble[1] |
| Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla | – | 0 | 2 | 2 | Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, David Lloyd[1] |
| Saint Lucia | – | 0 | 2 | 2 | J. M. Bosquet, Carl La Corbiniere[1] |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | – | 2 | 0 | 2 | Leroy Adams, Alphaeus Allen[1] |
| Trinidad and Tobago | – | 6 | 4 | 10 | Victor Bryan, Albert Gomes, Roy Josephs, Pat Mathura, D. Pierre, A. N. R. Robinson, W. Andrew Rose, Mohammed Shah, Ashford Sinanan, Ronald Williams[1] |
| Total | 1 | 19 | 25 | 45 |
The Composition of the West Indies House of Representatives after the 1958 federal elections.
Constituencies
| Constituency |
Winner (Party) |
|---|
| Antigua (1st seat) |
Novelle Richards (WIFLP)[2] |
| Antigua (2nd seat) |
Bradley Carrott (WIFLP)[2] |
| Barbados (1st seat) |
Sir Grantly Adams (WIFLP)[3] |
| Barbados (2nd seat) |
Harcourt Rocheford (WIFLP)[3] |
| Barbados (3rd seat) |
V. B. Vaughn (WIFLP)[3] |
| Barbados (4th seat) |
Deighton Ward (WIFLP)[3] |
| Barbados (5th seat) |
Florence Daysh (BNP)[3] |
| Caroni (Trinidad & Tobago) |
Pat Mathura (DLP)[2] |
| Clarendon (Jamaica) |
Dr. Frederick Duhaney (DLP)[2] |
| County of Cornwall (Jamaica) |
Ernest Wakeland (DLP)[3] |
| County of Middlesex (Jamaica) |
Archdeacon Stanley Augustus Lennon (DLP)[2] |
| County of Surrey (Jamaica) |
Kenneth Hill (DLP)[2] |
| Dominica (1st seat) |
Edward Oliver LeBlanc (WIFLP)[3] |
| Dominica (2nd seat) |
Phyllis Byam Shand Allfrey (WIFLP)[3] |
| Eastern Counties (Trinidad & Tobago) |
Victor Bryan (DLP)[2] |
| Grenada (1st seat) |
Thomas Gibbs (WIFLP)[2] |
| Grenada (2nd seat) |
Dr. Lincoln Radix (WIFLP)[2] |
| Hanover (Jamaica) |
Sydney Stone (DLP)[2] |
| Kingston (Jamaica) |
Ralph Brown (WIFLP)[2] |
| Manchester (Jamaica) |
Louis Patrick Delapenha (WIFLP)[2] |
| Montserrat |
William Bramble (WIFLP)[3] |
| Port of Spain, East (Trinidad & Tobago) |
Donald Pierre (WIFLP)[2] |
| Port of Spain, West (Trinidad & Tobago) |
Ronald Jay Williams (WIFLP)[2] |
| Portland (Jamaica) |
Clement Afflick (DLP)[2] |
| Saint Andrew (Jamaica) |
M. A. Hector (DLP)[2] |
| Saint Ann (Jamaica) |
F. B. Ricketts (WIFLP)[2] |
| Saint Anns (Trinidad & Tobago) |
W. Andrew Rose (WIFLP)[2] |
| Saint Catherine (Jamaica) |
Winston Williams (DLP)[2] |
| Saint Elizabeth (Jamaica) |
Lionel Densham (DLP)[2] |
| Saint George, East (Trinidad & Tobago) |
Albert Gomes (DLP)[2] |
| Saint James (Jamaica) |
Howard Cooke (WIFLP)[2] |
| Saint Kitts (1st seat) |
Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw (WIFLP)[2] |
| Saint Kitts (2nd seat) |
David S. Lloyd (WIFLP)[3] |
| Saint Lucia (1st seat) |
Carl La Corbiniere (WIFLP)[2] |
| Saint Lucia (2nd seat) |
Joseph Bosquet (WIFLP)[2] |
| Saint Mary (Jamaica) |
Morris Cargill (DLP)[2] |
| Saint Patrick (Trinidad & Tobago) |
Mohammed Shah (DLP)[2] |
| Saint Thomas (Jamaica) |
Robert Lightbourne (DLP)[2] |
| Saint Vincent (1st seat) |
Leroy Adams (DLP)[4] |
| Saint Vincent (2nd seat) |
Alphaeus Allen (DLP)[4] |
| San Fernando-Naparima (Trinidad & Tobago) |
Roy Josephs (DLP)[2] |
| Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago) |
A. N. R. Robinson (WIFLP)[2] |
| Trelawny (Jamaica) |
A. U. Belinfanti (WIFLP)[2] |
| Victoria (Trinidad & Tobago) |
Ashford Sinanan (DLP)[2] |
| Westmoreland (Jamaica) |
Constantine Swaby (DLP)[2] |
The Council of State included:[1]
- Prime Minister, Grantly Adams (Barbados)
- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry: The Hon. Dr. Carl La Corbiniere (St. Lucia)
- Minister of Labour and Social Affairs: The Hon. Mrs. Phyllis Byam Shand Allfrey (Dominica)
- Minister of Finance: The Hon. Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw (St. Kitts)
- Minister of Natural Resources and Agriculture: The Hon. F.B. Ricketts (Jamaica)
- Minister of Communications and Works: The Hon. W. Andrew Rose, (Trinidad)
- Minister without Portfolio: The Hon. Novelle Richards Richards, (Antigua)
- Minister without Portfolio: The Hon. Mr. V. B. Vaughn (Barbados)
- Leader of the Opposition: Ashford Sinanan (Trinidad)
- Marshall of the House: John R. Ashmeade
Aftermath
Following the elections, Grantley Herbert Adams of the WIFLP became Prime Minister following a 23–21 vote in the House (the Grenada members, while allied with WIFLP, supported the DLP). However, his selection was indicative of the problems the Federation would face; The expected leader of the WIFLP was Norman Manley, Premier of Jamaica, and the next logical choice was Eric Williams, Premier of Trinidad and Tobago. However, neither had contested the federal elections, preferring to remain in control of their respective island power bases, and were not eligible. This suggested that the leaders of the two most important provinces did not see the federation as viable. Similarly, Alexander Bustamante, the Jamaican founder of the DLP, also declined to contest the federal election, leaving the party leadership to the Trinidadian Ashford Sinanan. The absence of the leading Jamaican politicians from any role at the federal level was to undermine the federation's unity.
Senate Selection
The Senate was appointed in April 1958, shortly before the opening of Parliament. In a controversial move, Governor-General Lord Hailes consulted the opposition DLP groups in Trinidad and Jamaica and appointed one DLP nominee senator from each of those territories, resulting in 15 WIFLP senators and 4 DLP senators overall. Lord Hailes did this having taken account of the fact that St. Vincent was the only unit territory with a DLP government and that as a result the federal senate was going to be overwhelmingly pro WIFLP.[5][6]
From the Senate, the Council of State included:
- Minister without Portfolio: A.G.R. Byfield (Jamaica)
- Minister without Portfolio: J.W. Liburd (St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla)
- Minister without Portfolio: J.L. Charles (St. Lucia)
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Members of the Federal House of Representatives". Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner. July 13, 1958. p. 20. Retrieved 31 October 2017 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 "Members of the Federal House of Representatives". Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner. March 26, 1958. p. 7. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Members of the Federal House of Representatives". Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner. March 27, 1958. p. 20. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- 1 2 "Members of the Federal House of Representatives". Kingstown, Saint Vincent: Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. April 3, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via University of Florida.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Caribbean Elections - West Indies Federation". Caribbeanelections.com. January 20, 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via Caribbeanelections.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Members of the Federal House of Representatives". Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner. April 12, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
