Our man Andrew Holness, Jamaica Minister of Education for PM


It’s as if Andrew Holness belongs to all ministries – and above all the Ministry of the people. He connects with average Jamaicans, even after getting a fine cussing out for doing bad to some aspects of the Education system. Can he do better though given baskets he got to carry water- Jamaica’s newest rising Prime Minister.


Landslide! – New Opinion Poll Shows Holness Miles Ahead In JLP Leadership Race

ARTICLE SOURCE: JAMAICA GLEANER
Published: Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Arthur Hall, Senior Jamaica Gleaner Staff Reporter

If voters were asked to elect the new leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), the 39-year-old Andrew Holness would win in a landslide.

And if the just under 5,000 delegates elect the youthful Holness when they meet on November 19, the JLP could see a bounce in its support at the polls.

That is according to the findings of a just-completed Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll, which was done after Bruce Golding announced his intention to step down but before he signalled his desire to see a young person take over from him.

The pollster found that just under 50 per cent of Jamaicans believe that Holness, the three-term West Central St Andrew member of parliament and minister of education, is the right man to replace Golding as prime minister and leader of the JLP.

Almost the same number say they would be more likely to vote for the JLP if Holness were elected.

Other aspirants for the party’s top job – Dr Christopher Tufton, Dr Ken Baugh, Audley Shaw and Mike Henry – barely appear on the radar of the poll commissioned immediately after Golding announced his decision to step down.

The poll was conducted on Saturday, October 1, and Sunday, October 2, in 84 communities across the island’s 14 parishes. It has a sample size of 1,008 and a margin of error of plus or minus four per cent.

Forty-three per cent of the respondents named Holness as their first choice to replace Golding, with Tufton left far behind with nine per cent support.

Shaw, who is said to enjoy strong backing from the business sector and some senior members of the party, was a distant third, with a paltry four per cent of the respondents saying he is the one to lead the Government.

The other persons to openly indicate interest in the party’s top job, Baugh and Henry, hardly troubled the researchers, with three and one per cent support, respectively.

When asked if the election of Holness would impact their decision to vote JLP, 45 per cent of the respondents said they would be more likely to vote for the party if he were its leader.

However, three in every 10 persons said the youthful Holness would make them less likely to vote.

But that was far better than his probable opponents, with almost five in every 10 Jamaicans saying they would be less likely to vote for a JLP led by Tufton and 62 per cent saying they would be less likely to vote for the party if it were led by Shaw.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com

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