Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Senator Clay Sweeting says a ‘New Perspective and the day of reckoning’ has come for the party and that only from learning three lessons that contributed to the downfall of the party at the May 10th General Election will the party see change.
Addressing the delegates in the 53rd annual convention of the party under the theme ‘We will Rebuild Beyond the Base’, Senator Sweeting said that the party will emerge stronger than before.
“While our party may have taken a significant loss and some may be weakened and our confidence shaken, I want every PLP to know this, we will rebuild, we will recover, and the Progressive Liberal Party will emerge stronger than before,” he said.
Senator Sweeting said that in order for the PLP to become the government in 2022, there will be a need for lessons to be learnt and that the party needs to go back to basics.
“In order for the Progressive Liberal Party to become the next government of this country, we must change a few things and focus on what made us the great party that the Bahamian people fell in love with.
“Lesson One: Base and swing voters are both crucial. Even in the inner cities of Nassau where the PLP were supposedly strong, the Progressive Liberal Party were defeated.
“This proves one of two things. The party has lost some of its base, or the party forgot from whence we came.
“I believe that the Progressive Liberal Party has a very stable base, but we must once again connect with the people of this country. We serve the people, the people does not serve us. Once we remember this, we will once again gain the trust of our voters because if you represent the people, they will represent you.
“Lesson Two: Connect year-round and on the ground. The all-too-familiar refrain that PLP’s show up only at election time certainly rang true in 2017.
“Despite consistently high levels of support for PLP’s, some of these communities felt that they needed more governmental attention whether it be educational, economic, or criminal justice.
“Progressives must be on the ground year-round, reaching out to all people, millennials, men and women. We must connect with our Family Island communities and impress upon them that the PLP cares about their needs, concerns and issues.
“The Bahamian people want to feel us,” Senator Sweeting said.
He said that the third lesson that the party must learn is that boldness is needed if the PLP is to help heal the nation.
“Lesson Three: Think big and be bold.
“PLP’s, we must fight harder than ever before. We must be bold, be courageous. Move into every home, every island, and every constituency proclaiming the good news that the Progressive Liberal Party has been rebranded and is willing to work along with the people of this country to heal our nation.
“If we take these lessons to heart, the PLP can reverse the route of 2017,” Senator Sweeting said.
“Campaign 2022 starts now—not a few months before the next election—we can counter the FNM’s noise machine that was so crucial during the last election.
“Through our work over the last years campaigning and moving around, we have seen that when we talk face-to-face with voters, we build a real base for our party. And when PLPs connect with those voters, we can win,” Senator Sweeting told the delegates.
Senator Sweeting told the convention that “the party that must become the party that will chase away the clouds and let the sun shine through. The sun of honor and truth. The sun of freedom, fairness and equality.
“We must connect and empower all Bahamians,” he said.
