There was a time when the man who bestrode The Bahamas like a colossus was Lynden Pindling.  He was the supreme leader.  But it was always conventional wisdom at Party convention time that if the Leader wanted a particular choice, his deputy Arthur Hanna, now our Governor General, would choose someone to support who was not Pindling’s choice.  That was my grounding in PLP democracy.

So the race this year is a test for the PLP’s internal democracy.

The times have changed and there is no maximum leader.  So this time it appears that there will be challenges at all levels.  This is a good and healthy thing.  It is to be encouraged.

The loss of the election in 2007 was inexplicable and incomprehensible on so any levels.  At the same time, we know the reasons why, and they have been aired in so many other forums it is not for me tonight to speak to them.  You all have your views on the subject I am sure.

What I am here to do tonight is simply to stand up for certain principles:

The principle of internal party democracy; the principle of the fight for new ideas and for what I call an agenda for change.

Those like Philip Davis who support that agenda for change have my support.

The battle within the PLP must be more about ideas for the future and the political battles to come with the FNM, and less about personalities.

You who are voters in this exercise of democracy in the Party must know what are the plans for the financial soundness of the Progressive Liberal Party?

What are the plans for our Party’s consultative mechanisms, for its decision making process; for the timeliness of the party to respond to the modern Bahamas?

What are the plans for restructuring the party to make us relevant to the times?

What are the plans to make the party forward thinking and not backward sinking?

We have to stop singing ‘Abide With Me’ and start singing let’s go out to the ball game.

Let’s stop giving a thousand reasons why we cannot change and think of the thousand reasons why we should and we will change.

Let us not simply talk the language of change, let us change.

We have resisted the structural involvement of young people in the party.  I am therefore now in favour of mandatory set asides to force this change.

We have to set as a constitutional requirement of the Party that 50 percent of the delegates at the convention and in the National General Council should be below the age of 40 and at least 33 per cent ought to be women.

I invite your support and consideration for this idea.

Unless we change the party, there can be no victory at the polls, which will allow us to change the country.  So tonight’s meeting and the meetings all over the country like this are the first steps toward the PLP changing itself and thus changing the country for the better.

The issues are there for us to solve.  There is crime and there is unemployment.  How are we going to slay those dragons?

How are we going to get the young people off the streets and into our meetings and part of the process of reforming their country and taking hold of their country?

It cannot be done on the votes of Grand Bahama alone, although Grand Bahama is an important component of the changes that are needed.  Indeed, this is where revolutions begin and I would expect no less of you.

This is probably my only opportunity to have a discussion with you about the agenda for change and why it important for us to change if we are to win.  I pledge to work with any PLP who is committed to change the order, who is committed to timeliness and committed to a proper funding of our party.

I want to thank Mr. Davis for this opportunity to speak.  I want to thank him for stepping forward.  It is an act of bravery.  No doubt, the slings and arrows are already out, but that’s okay too; and it is part of the process.

Let us commit ourselves to work together for the betterment of our party and for a new team, which will include Brave Davis when the convention is over.

Thank you very much.