THE EVENTS IN the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) following the formal expulsion of its president and general secretary, Ronnie Yearwood and Steve Blackett, suggest strongly that it faces a deep existential crisis and even possible extinction.
In this article, I offer diagnoses about why possible DLP extinction is now overwhelming. I indicate the conditions which may hasten or halt this extinction, and I conclude by offering some observations on the likely outcome based on current reality.
The event which has raised the likelihood of a DLP extinction is the failure of any of the warring factions to gain full control of the party apparatus. While I have argued previously that a settled Ralph Thorne leadership offers a better prospect for the short-term recovery of the DLP, it is clear from the prolonged nature of the internal split, and from the scorched earth policy of the expelled factions, that no faction within the DLP has been able to decisively heal the internal split. No section is so weak that it cannot divide the party and no section is so strong that it can unite it. In addition, there is always the possibility of the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) calling another early election. It is unlikely that the DLP can survive three consecutive 30-0 defeats. It is also possible that one of the DLP factions can reconstitute itself into an alternative grouping under a new name. Finally, it is also possible that a third party, unrelated to either of the warring factions, can emerge.

The first condition for avoiding extinction of the DLP is that there must be a decisive victory of one group over the other and there must be a total commitment to conform to a new status quo by a vanquished group. Only a party conference or a national election can provide the context for such a scenario. No amount of calling the police or citing of previous convention votes can resolve the leadership stalemate.
What then is the likely future of the DLP given the current reality? The next DLP convention or next general election will decide. However, we can say with certainty that the DLP is likely to lose the next election, bringing the party exactly back to where it was in 2018. Fifteen years later, the quest will still be to achieve the barest minimum goals: to win one seat and to find a leader that galvanises all.
Time will not wait for the DLP forever. There have been other long-standing parties that have emerged and have disappeared. Where is Eric Gairy’s Grenada United Labour Party? Where is Eugenia Charles’ Dominica Freedom Party? If the DLP does not resolve its post-election leadership crisis at the quickest possible time, the possibility of its extinction is very great.
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