‘Be done with’ Speech from the Throne- Claude O. Skelton-Cline
The annual Speech from the Throne is delivered by the VI’s sitting governor, during which the government’s plans for the year ahead are laid out in the House of Assembly (HoA).
“All that colonisation stuff, we need to get away from,” Skelton-Cline said during his show, Honestly Speaking, on ZBVI 780 AM, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, “Even that Speech from the Throne, we need to cut that out.”
He questioned why an agenda prepared by a government has to be handed to the governor to be read in the House of Assembly on their behalf.
“It’s your agenda, the people we elect… Why do we keep doing things that make no sense?”
Symbols of subjugation
The Speech from the Throne and other activities like it, he said, are used as symbols and remembrance of the “subjugation that we are in”.
Some practices in the Virgin Islands need to be cut out, he said. “We should just cut out and be done with these things.”
Governor Daniel Pruce delivered the 2026 Speech from the Throne on January 13, 2026, under the theme ‘Legislative Pillars of Progress: Building a Sustainable Nation’.
Meanwhile, Skelton-Cline said the Virgin Islands should continue with the State of the Territory Address, saying, "I think we need to continue in that tradition and continue to give the state of affairs of the country."
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19 Responses to “‘Be done with’ Speech from the Throne- Claude O. Skelton-Cline ”
If there is a desire to replace the Throne Speech with the State of the Territory Address, the upcoming Constitutional Review provides the perfect opportunity to formalise that shift.
These adjustments can be made without any inflammatory bluster. The issue is straightforward: if the Territory wants a modernised, locally centred method of outlining its legislative agenda, the Constitution can be amended to reflect that.
What is the throne speech about? It is not what the UK is going to due , fund for the coming fiscal year. It is a platform to show case who has the power , who is large and in charge, etc.. Mount Olympus is just parroting what the local government’s plan is for the upcoming fiscal year. This an insult. The Premier, the leader of government business, is highly capable of delivering a state of the territory speech. The UK-appointed wants to talk to his subjects about the UK’s position he/she can schedule an event as needed. What will be the interest? The BVI is supposedly self- governing, so show some respect unless you still believe people of African descent are a defective species, sn underclass, etc. ok. Appeasers bring it. Let’s talk mano to mano.