UDP moves to oust former 5
(CNS): The Bodden Town ministers, Mark Scotland and Dwayne Seymour, have been given seven days to resign from the UDP or face a hearing with the district council, which would result in their forced removal. An e-mail from the Bodden Town UDP chair, Mario Rankine, who was, CNS can confirm, arrested Thursday, chastised the two Bodden Town MLAs and makes it clear that they are no longer welcome in the party. Following the decision by Scotland and Seymour, along with the new premier, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, Rolston Anglin and Cline Glidden, to oust Bush from office Tuesday, the new Cabinet had already said they expected in turn to be ousted from the United Democratic Party.
In his e-mail Rankine states that he is “very disappointed that you guys did not care to inform or communicate with the council on what your actions would be that took place earlier this week”, and went on to write that the move demonstrated “the highest level of disloyalty and disrespect to the UDP.”
Rankine, who has been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences, told Seymour andScotland in an email sent to them sometime on Wednesday afternoon that it was the die-hard supporters who made it possible for them to be legislators. But in light of their actions they were exercising “the power in the UDP constitution to discipline any member whose actions are not in the best interest of the UDP and more importantly the people of the Cayman Islands.”
He said he was signing a letter to serve both men with seven days’ notice of the hearing, giving them a chance to be heard.
“However it would be easier if you Mark Scotland and John Seymour just simply step down as UDP and save the good people who put their entire life and reputation on the line for you guys any further embarrassment,” he wrote. “For the record Mark Scotland and John Seymour do NOT have me and my family support anymore the campaign against them starts NOW,” Rankine stated in his correspondence.
While the five former UDP Cabinet members now have control of government, it appears that all five are likely to be ousted from the formal UDP over the next few days. CNS understands, however, that not all of the party membership is deserting the five, with some senior members already making moves to leave the UDP and back the breakaway group.
McKeeva Bush will be hosting a public meeting in George Town this evening when the extent of the party's lack of unity will be revealed. The former premier and political veteran is expected to respond to the events over the last ten days, which have seen his fall from high office in the wake of his arrest Tuesday 11 December on suspicion of theft and several offences under the anti-corruption law.
In the Legislative Assembly one week later, on Tuesday 19 December, the opposition leader’s no confidence motion succeeded as five government members supported it, bringing down Bush’s administration. However, before the debate began, Bush effectively resigned from the government benches when he crossed the floor of the House in the company of Mike Adam, Captain Eugene Ebanks and Ellio Solomon. While the UDP is now split, it is clear that Bush, not O’Connor-Connolly, remains the leader of the UDP and will be re-grouping that party in preparations for the May general elections.
Rankine was arrested Thursday afternoon by officers from the immigration department but no details of that arrest have been released.
Category: Politics
Does anyone really think that there is anyone in the country who listens to or cares about what Mario Rankin thinks. Certainly the 5 UDP break aways don't give a rats arse what Rankin thinks or is trying to do for it is the 4 UDP memebers who crossed the floor who are the real traitors and deserters from the UDP party and the ones who stayed to form a government are standing by the UDP. Mario you have it all wrong again and totally back the front XXXX.
So in Caymankind the word UNITED really means divided. Is that right?
Honorable means incompetent? What does the word fool mean here?
Please keep the pay roll up to date, I just dont want to hear another mom calling the Talk Show crying that her son never got paid. You all know what it is when mom's not getting her light and water bill money…
Perhaps Mario should spend a little time teaching his staff customer service as his rapidly declining establishments at Grand Harbour?
The man should of bought a Webster Dictionary same time he purchased that Ferrari.
Mark now that your hand is out of the lion mouth, I will vote for you.. You have my respect now
I have to say I watched their press breifing on Tv and listened to two of them on Rooster on Friday morning and they were a breath of fresh air.
Let's give them a chance and see what they can do in the few months they have. It is too bad they waited this long to free themselves from the shackles of McKeeva.
Dem infamous 5 never cared about party or party rues for they know that rules would amper their disloyalty
It is my view that the 5 MLA's who remained on the Government benches in the No Confidence debate in the LA must be the remaining members of the UDP, while the four who crossed the House to the opposition benches must by that act have remounced their membership of the government party. Notice that this action took place before the then Premier's appointment was revoked, and the four who crossed the House included both the (at the time) Premier and the General Secretary of the Party.
It would seem to me to be an impossibility for anybody who crossed the floor at that time to be in a position to expel anyone from the party which they at that time publicly abandoned. On the other hand, those five who remained on the Government benches retained their membership of the governing Party.
I suggest, therefore, that the way the 5 should respond to any letter inviting them to a "meeting of the Party" for the purpose of enquiry and discipline, would be respectfully to decline the letter, as being written without due authority, and to issue to the 4 a friendly and understanding letter inviting them to form a backbench on the government side of the House. Of course, if such an invitation were rejected, then proceedings of expulsion from the Party would have to be set in motion by the 5.
Exactly! The ones who crossed the floor are the ones who resigned from the party. When you cross the floor you symbolically abandon the Government and join the opposition (or vice versa, of course, if you go the other way). It also means that, when he crossed the floor, Mac resigned as Premier, since you can't be in the opposition AND Premier at the same time. I suspect that that particular subtlety was lost on the non-UDP 3
In my humble opinion, it would be the best thing to ever happen to that group of 5 persons, if they were to be rid of that UDP party and start over fresh, having learnt their lesson that when you lie down with dogs, you rise up with fleas. Get away from the UDP as fast as you can, if you want to salvage any self-respect, and any hope of ever reviving your destroyed careers.
So maybe Rolston should lose his license immediately seeing he now has a driver at the expense of the people.
Ok so doesnt Mario run the Dart project on West Bay rd? So he is the UDP chair but wouldn’t that be conflict of interest that he is doing the project….
The Fab 5 came across as a proper Government on crosstalk today. They answered all questions put forward to them, there was no mudslinging and they sounded very capable. I wish them well and hope they can follow through.
A week is a long time in politics right enough
They allowed Mac and were part of this government which has moved from one embarassing crisis to the next..they are all guilty and should all be ousted.
How quickly people forget. Julianna is no better with taking advantage of her position and spending money like it grows on trees while a lot of people in Cayman are suffering.
Rolston has lied to the police. Even if his charge won't land him in jail (which was his explanation for the difference between him in McKeeva's situation), he did not do the right thing. People have resigned from high profile positions for much less.
So please, don't forget all that has happened just because the 5 are now all of the sudden playing nice. They should have played nice 3 years ago…………
I guess Mario think his letter in going to make them 2 shake in their boots. You are all a set of morons! And yes Mario , you and them all are at the end of your rope. Welcome to December 21st 2012
I wish all of this energy expended went towards the betterment of Cayman.
This spectacle is getting really old, and I don't care about who hurt whose feelings.
This is a bit like watching Survivor….who has formed alliances with whom?
Let us put aside PPM, UDP and the band of misfits. Reading these commentaries, I realise that a lot of the populous have missed the essential issue at the heart of all this. First if Mr Bush has done something wrong then he is to answer for it. Secondly the justice system at its core presumes a man innocent until proven guilty.
The members of the UDP that voted against Mr Bush are not worthy to be at the helm of this or any other country as they serve their own interest. I hope the voters take note. They don’t want cowards and traitors leading this country.
The country needs leaders that are not swayed with the first gush of wind. We need leaders to stand for something or they will be blown down by anything. We need leaders that are not afraid to stand up to oppressive force and dictatorship. That will not be led by foreign forces down paths that are not in the interest of this country. We need leaders that don’t sit and watch while the works of the founders that made this country one to be envied are chipped away. We need leaders that are innovative and will create new industries and opportunities than those that have seem to allow the ones we have to dwindle away.
This PPM vs. UDP attitude is very similar to what is in Jamaica and it has gotten that country nowhere. Let us support the Cayman Islands and what is in the best interest of the Cayman Islands. I for one believe we need to rid the country of those leaders that have been there so long and inject new young individual with fresh ideas. It is time for a revolution. The intelligent of the community that are bullied into keeping their mouth shut in fear of reproach need to speak up or the Cayman Islands future will be very dark.
I agree with everything you have stated, which is exactly why Mac had to go.
Seems to be a lot more turkeys around this Christmas time. Big ones too.
Mmm Turkey,,,
Is it a requirement to be arrested for an offence in order to be a member of the UDP?
Not really, but you do get promoted once you're arrested AFTER you become a member.
You do NOT have me and my family support. You just have to wonder how many family votes a person can deliver to the polling booth when he is being sued by not one, but TWO uncles. LOL.
Whatever the total was minus two.
Stupid.
"the highest level of un-loyalty" sounds right. Huked on fonics werked four me!
Seriously, who proof reads their correspondence?
So let us get this straight:
UDP didn't want Bush to resign over his arrest of coruption and abuse of office (which if anyone else in Cayman would be suspended from work until the outcome of the case)
UDP members act in best interests of country to rmove Bsuh
UDP wants these members to resign for the good of the country
So in UDP eyes dragging Cayman's reputation through the mud is fine, but acting in the best interest of the country is against party policy.
HOW BACKWARD ARE THE UDP CONSENSUS? AND HOW MUCH DO THEY HATE THIS COUNTRY?
When we thought the PPM party was eroding, UDP party falls apart in a matter of days. So it goes. In the first place, I never had faith in a party-system; it is the type of people that thirst for power and we vote them in because we believe every friggin thing they say.
XXXX I believe that we may see the issue of the dump change dramtically as Mark and John John will not have the threat of Mac over them. So Bodden Town we may finally see these 2 men step up to the plate and do something.
Mark pushed for the dump to be in bodden town, and funny enough the land for it was purchased from his friend.
The dump is there to stay – in bodden town.
And with Cline Glidden in charge of development – the man who announced Government wanted the waste to energy facility to be in GT and for the current dump to be cleaned up for the benefit of future generations of Caymanians and then stood by while the deal got 100% reversed… and who has business with Dart – no conflict of interest there then?
Mario acts just like the Premier. Little does he realise that he is only somebody big and powerful in his eyes. Mario, throwing a tantrum because your little web has been broken shows your true UDP colours. You all are desperate because your four years are almost over. Mark and John John did the honourable thing by restoring honour and integrity to the LA and now you are doing them an even bigger favour by throwing them out of a party where it appears that laws and rules don't matter and that gaining an arrest is must.
I say to Mark and John John, "RUN! And don't look back." Correct all of the errors they forced upon you and show them what you can do without the yoke of the UDP upon you.
Mario, I think you will feel rather out of place in Bodden Town now and if you do, West Bay would probably be more accommodating for you. We know to stay far away from any candidate you may even show the slightest bit of association for next election.
Only in Cayman can a group that is called the UNITED DEMOCRATIC PARTY be anything but.
If I were one of the five, I would be so glad to be far far away with anything to do with the UDP. Heard some the foolishness from them on the radio last night. Everyone else is talking about working together for the good of the country. They blamed, the UK, the Governor, Alden, and probably more. They cannot look at themselves and take responsiblity for their own actions. I couldn't stomach it any more and had to turn the rubbish off.
This is where the politics in Cayman go sour. Why cant these politicians see the big picture and rather than constantly make this about THEM start to focus on our country and the PEOPLE of this country. Stop publicly ousting others and FOCUS on the HUGE task you have been selected to perform!
But wait folks.
What about the oil refinery?
Mario must have that one complete by now?
keep it up….the reputations of the udp is growing by the day….( i never though i'd be saying that!)
Rollie arrested, Dwayne arrested, Mac arrested (twice), Mario arrested, WTF is going on? Oh well, I suppose if Mac can get arrested there really can't be anything wrong with Mario getting arrested. Really it wouldn't be all that bad if they both had just a little better command of the English language, (along with 99 percent of their supporters, of course). If they all weren't so pathetic we would have a real comedy show on our hands. Lawd help us.
U forgot Edlin Myles, Chair of George Town UDP council
Mario Flario, it seems to me you realise that the tap with all that milk and honey, is not only drying up, it has been turned off. Such sweet sorrows!!
Ok, so what you are saying is that if these guys told the council what they were doing, and the council did not necessarily agree, then they would have followed protocol and maybe you would continue to support them as a result? Common man. Put a sock in it.
I believe you are you suggesting that you do not support the Premier (pardon me, former Premier – my bad) stepping down or as a matter of fact being "forced out"? Why don't you tell us a little about your political ambitions? 'You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time' I think I heard the fat lady singing over there.
You consider yourself the cheese eh? Mac and Cheese? Is that it?
Be careful of the decisions you make right now. Be very careful.
Hold on help me here, if 5 of nine say that 4 must go I think the 4 must go, suggested name for new party Bush Ltd XXXX
I would LOVE to know who is on this council. And if it is more than MR and CL how often do they meet? I am sure the minute book has dust an inch thick on it! Thruth be told the UDP doesn’t have a functional council system. Ellio and Mario talk about the councils but where and who are they? I suspect they are the same old dust names that they used in ’09 and they haven’t met since.
The UDP has to all extents and purposes imploded and is now little more than a sinking ship, its boilers exploding in noisy indignation as it disappears from view. That’s what happens when the captain lacks integrity – disaster.
Not just the Captain, the party leadership is obviously scary. Birds of a feather?
"all intents and purposes"
I wouldn’t say he mangled the language. He made a few minor errors like un loyal instead if disloyal and the improper use of who vs whose. CNS readers and more accurately its “commenters” are the most critical bunch of folks around. Whenever I read a positive article there’s NEVER any comments. He made some minor mistakes I’m sure in the heat of the moment. Yes, it understandably does not reflect the best impression given this particular situation but geez CNS spelled his name wrong and to me that’s the worst mistake I’ve seen so far. It’s Rankin, not Rankine. To me that is actually a very major error but Im not going to say the writer isn’t articulate. People make mistakes.
Troll because I state the facts and observe how hateful you all are. Ok… Fair enough!
I’m absolutely loving the level of immaturity here. It is so indicative of the nature and immature behavior I was originally pointing out. Thank you for proving me right. As if there was any doubt in my mind. I’m so happy you find pleasure in something because it is obvious your lives are devoid of any true substance. Entertaining to say the least. You think you’re pushing my buttons when in actuality you’re proving my exact point. Oh how I love the irony. Thanks for my entertainment for the night!
Well, if these few lines of "comedy" are sufficient for your night then we should all feel sorry for you, smile
Don’t feel sorry for me. Feel sorry for your island that is falling apart for the whole world to see. It wasn’t a few lines of comedy, it’s the irony of having the same people who I was referring to prove my point for me. Point being, the negative, finger pointing, useless comments depict why your precious islands are not progressing. Stop wasting your energy on futile jabbering and put it to some good use for once in your miserable lives. Smile!
This (OP) started off half-decent but now its down to pot v. kettle.
You have "articulate" and "literate" mixed up.
I used articulate because that’s the word the commenter I was referring to used. Thank you. Come again!
you dufuss…..
Not really: I dont think cns posters are being hard – it’s just that if you a going to send such an email telling people off, you have to get it right, otherwise nobody can take your word/ threats seriously
"there are NEVER any comments." Comments is plural so it is 'are' not 'is'.
They say that in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king, but in the la-la-land of UDP a fifth-grade education is a PhD.
Hilarious – even the UDP chair has been arrested. Birds of a feather flock together.
New nam for former 5?
The JuJu Crew?
The Tarmaca Braca?
The Furious Five?
Exciting times!
How about the UNunited Democratic party? Or the as yet unarrested democratic party. Or my personal favorite the UNwanted democratic party.
More suited is the Unruly Destructive Party!
The words of Al Capone come to mind: "Vote early, and vote often".
I do not know about Bodden Town and the B.T. district Council, but if Makeewah is waiting for the Cayman Brac UDP District Council to oust Julie, he will be waiting until Christ comes and then some. I do not know of one Bracker who does not think that Bush is an idiot. Julie was around long before the UDP and did not need Bush or the UDP to earn her seat or the love of the people who support her.
As I think about it, I wish I could see the look on Makeewah's face when Christ does come: he will be hiding behind Foolio and Mike and the Captain trying to shake the doodie from his drawers, quaking in fear because he knows it is really, really over for him then because he will be facing Someone who won't be buying his bullsh_t about "clean hands". If he thinks the Governor dealt with him harshly, he ain't seen nothing yet! The place reserved for Bush will be a tad bit warmer than the back bench.
Pave someones drive and earn a vote for life! Was it Churchill (?) that said a people get the government they deserve!
So UDP MLA's have to ask the party council how they should vote in the assembly? Interesting. Maybe people need to keep track of who is on the council so they will know who the bosses are. If it was me I'd just ignore this council and let them do whatever the heck they plan to do. Whatever it is it will be semiliterate.
Good point
I blame Satan!
…No wait greed!
No it was them super sized meals !i tells ya!
Here we go again zzz…
Mmm hmmmm!
The harder they come, the harder they fall—- one and all!!
"Gonna be a while ? Grab a Snikers. . ."
Damn. Stevo going to be b,b, busy!
you is very articulate mario rankine
Someone needs to make a reality tv show of this comedy and drama. I am addicted to these articles. It will sell more than Survivor (no pun intended)
It is not a drama. It is a cheesey soap opera. Lots of fun to watch. Lots of fun to make rude comments.
We all seem to be forgetting about another prominent UDP member who was arrested a few months ago with regards to insurance. I’m beginning to wonder if its a criteria for membership.
So….they should step down for doing something right but the UDP that I voted for (but never again) thinks it is in the island's best interest to support the former premier who is under investigation for corruption?
At least there won't be much left of the UDP
UDP is actu1actually doing these 5 a favour, the farther they get from the UDP the better for their political career!!!!
Stay Strong Fab Five!!!
This might become your shining moment.
Now the cookie crumbles even further what a mess. Come on people (pre and post UDP members) for the love of country let it go and know that any decision taken to remove former Premier Bush was in the interest and love of country and not for political gain. The five UDP members were forced to make the difficult decision to remove the former Pemier Bush. Mr. Bush has proclaimed his innocentce so in due course he will be cleared but when the country is messed up and investors and businesses leave we will not get them back. Please stop the childish behaviour and do what is best for your country remember when you wreck the country only Caymanians have to stay because we have no where else to to.
Caymanians do not "have to stay", all Caymanian's are entitled to a British Passport which in turn means they are entitled to live, work and even draw welfare in any EU country.
Not all Caymanians are entitled to British passports. Status holders are not. Furthermore, there is high unemployment in Europe and inmost non-English speaking countries you will be required to speak the native language. Add that to the racism likely to be encountered and it is not realistic.
Don't all status holders also hold passports that allow them to live elsewhere?
It is said that when one door closes, several others open, Rankine and his family may no longer support you because of your decision, however, my family and I will support you for the stand you took.
Despite his arrest on suspicion of immigration offences, Mario Rankine should be charged with the torture and mangling of the English language!
It’s good to see the UDP is led by such well educated persons such as Mario–says a lot. 🙂