Two days after her leader was kicked out of Parliament, she and her colleagues boycotted the move and walked out and another of her colleagues not backing these actions FNM Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner is harping back on the headline grabbing events from Wednesday’s House of Assembly sitting and the inactions of Central and South Abaco Member of Parliament Edison Key.
Up to press time Mrs. Butler-Turner said she had still not spoken to Mr. Key but she did confirm that FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis is planning to have a sit down with Mr. Key very soon.
She said after Wednesday’s showing in the House of Assembly, Mr. Key’s inaction has seemingly angered many FNM supporters, especially his own constituents in South Abaco.
“I think Mr. Key knows why he’s doing what he does,” she said. “I think the difficulties we have are the supporters who elected him, they’re not sure what’s going on. So I think we have to bring clarity to that very soon.
“We got calls yesterday from South Abaco, many calls where people are very concerned and I can say very angry.”
The FNM deputy leader also confirmed to our news team that Mr. Key did not attend a rally the party held at its Mackey Street Headquarters Wednesday night, adding that the FNM’s fight is not about stem cell research itself but about principle, fairness and transparency.
She said the actions of House Speaker Dr. Kendal Major in naming Dr. Minnis were out of line.
“The Speaker was out of line,” Mrs. Butler-Turner said. “It seemed premeditated. It was scripted, he read from a script. I have never seen in the history of The Bahamas that a speaker reads from a script to name a Member.
“The speaker needs to be less influenced by the government side or more acquainted with the rules of Parliament.”
However, among those on the government’s side taking note of and praising the actions of both the house speaker and Mr. Key, was Prime Minister Perry Christie.
“Do you know the enormity of the decision the member for South Abaco made,” he asked on Wednesday. “He speaks in a debate and says he is for stem cell. He knows that one of the significant of research will be the cardiologist. He is a heart patient.”
The videos of Mrs. Butler-Turner standing her ground and standing by her party have almost gone viral, being retweeted, shared and becoming the newest online photo craze.
The deputy leader who said she has never been fearful, blushed at the sight of herself standing up to high ranking police officials on the front page of Wednesday’s Bahama Journal.
She often smiled and grinned at the paper but said she remains steadfast in what she believes, even in the face of others who refuse to do the same.
“Politics and party politics are always volatile and it always shifts depending on what’s going on,” Mrs. Butler-Turner said. “The most important thing is that you must always do what is right.
“If you do what is right you can’t be fearful, only when you do what is wrong fear enters the equation.”
