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Should [British] Virgin Islands modernise the Westminster style of government?

Edgar Leonard is a native Virgin Islander (British), an amateur freelance writer, and a graduate of Florida A&M University. Photo: Provided
Edgar Leonard

The UK is the mother of Parliament and operates on the Westminster style of Government, which it strongly embraces, has great faith in, and cherishes. The term Westminster comes from the Palace of Westminster, which is currently the Parliament seat in the UK.

The Westminster system is in contrast with the Presidential system used in the US. Further, the  British Empire was vast, comprising some 25% of the globe and over 400 million people. Consequently, many of its former colonies, saved for the US, including India and UK Overseas Territories (OT), employ the Westminster system. Nonetheless, in my opinion, it is flawed and needs some restructuring, adjusting, and realigning to modernise it.

To update it, the Virgin Islands (VI) [British] can embrace a hybrid system consisting of parts from the Westminster and Presidential systems.

UK & VI Westminster Systems

The UK is one of the few remaining monarchical governments and has a unique governing structure. It is a unitary state governed within the form of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy. King Charles III is the current monarch and is the head of state. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is the chief executive who operates on behalf of and with the monarch's consent. The governing structure consists of three branches, i.e., executive, legislative,  and judicial. Legislative power is vested in Parliament, composed of two chambers, i.e., the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The electorate votes directly for members of the House of Commons but doesn't vote directly for the prime minister, who is chosen by other members of Parliament (House of Commons). The House of Commons serves, in essence, as a permanent 'electoral college.' Moreover, the legislative and executive (Cabinet) branches are intended to abide by the principle of separation of powers. However, there is little daylight between the legislative and executive branches. And for the most part, the legislative branch plays a secondary role to the executive branch.

Moreover, the VI is an OT of the UK, and a similar governing structure exists. King Charles III is the head of state, with an on-site appointed governor serving as the crown representative. The VI has a unicameral 13-member (9 district representatives, 4 at large members) House of Assembly (HoA). The VI electorate votes directly to elect members of the HoA; elected members, in turn, elect the chief executive, the Premier. Like the House of Commons, the HoA serves, in essence, as a permanent 'electoral college.' Further, the Premier forms a cabinet from members of the HoA; again, there is no separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches. And for the most part, the HoA plays a secondary role to the executive branch. Adjustments to the Westminster system are needed to meet the separation of powers principle in the VI.

Presidential System

The US is one of the few former colonies of the UK that did not adopt the Westminster system of Government; it operates under the Presidential system, consisting of three branches, i.e., legislative, executive, and judicial, based on separation of powers among branches. Under the Presidential system, for example, in the US, the electorate votes directly for the chief executive, the President, who is also the head of state for a fixed term. It has a bicameral legislative branch, Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The electorate votes directly for House of Representatives and Senate members for fixed terms. Moreover, the President forms their Cabinet not with members of Congress but with non-elected officials.

Suggested Changes

The following are suggested changes to the Westminster system and adjustments to the political structure in the VI:

  1. The VI is an OT of the UK, so the monarch will be its head of state until if and when a majority of Virgin Islanders elect to vote to change its political status voluntarily;
  2. Negotiate a constitutional change to allow a majority (50%+1) of the electorate to directly vote for and elect the Premier for a fixed term; making the Premier directly accountable to the people;
  3. Restructure the system  to allow the Premier to form a Cabinet from either  a) members of the HoA or b)non-elected members from the community(borrowed process from the presidential system); the Premier as the government leader, should chair the Cabinet and  deliver the annual state of the Territory speech; Governor should deliver the throne speech focusing on UK policies and actions and their impact, if any, on the VI;
  4. Change the current HoA from a unicameral system to a bicameral system. Establish a 7-9 member, directly elected Senate to enhance representation, provide for a more deliberative and enhanced  legislative process, limit the  opportunity for abuse of power,  provide checks and balances, etc.; Bermuda, a sister, and oldest OT, has an 11-member appointed Senate;
  5. Both  the HoA and Senate should be directly elected for fixed, staggered terms;
  6. Revamp and restructure the At Large representative system by segmenting the Territory into 4 At Large geographical districts;
  7. Restructure the system to promote separation of powers between the Legislative and Executive branches to the maximum extent possible and practical;
  8. Change the First Past The Post plurality voting system to a majority (50%+1) voting system;
  9. Explore instituting a proportional representation system;
  10. Transition Civil Service  and Royal Virgin Police Force from under the direct purview of the Governor to the Local Government consistent with self-governing;
  11. Set and establish  procedures for appointing and removing  of Premier, members of HoA, and Senate ( if instituted);
  12. Set a fixed date for conducting a general election, leveling the political playing field and removing the guesswork as to when an election will be held; and,
  13. Set unity of command process for dealing with national emergencies, i.e., hurricanes, etc.

Change is constant, needed, and is occurring at an accelerating rate; energise the change wave with some creative destruction in the governing process. The people, the stakeholders, should be actively engaged for inputs on the Westminster system of Government.

Edgar Leonard is a native Virgin Islander [British] and an amateur freelance  writer.

11 Responses to “Should [British] Virgin Islands modernise the Westminster style of government?”

  • Interesting (26/10/2022, 16:32) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    The executive and legislative branches are not strictly separate in a Westminster style constitution. However, I do not agree that the legislature takes a role which is secondary to the role of the executive. If the system appears to operate like that in a particular jurisdiction, it essentially means that the legislature is not properly performing its role. Overall you raise some interesting and thought provoking points. Some I agree with, others I respectfully disagree with. It is, however, this level of insight and analysis that I hope for from our people during the constitutional review process.
  • Political Observer (PO) (26/10/2022, 17:15) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    Good read. A few suggestions just off the page with some interest and curiosity. They include 1) allowing voters to directly vote for the Premier, 2)allowing Premier to form his/her cabinet with non-elected officials, 3)changing the HOA from a unicameral to a bicameral and establishing a 7-9 member directly elected Senat, 4) moving civil service and RVIPF from under the Governor to local government, 5) separating the legislative and executive branches, and 6) chairing of cabinet by the Premier. No doubt these suggestions will cause a row among the people. If a Senate is stood up, are the 4 at large members needed?
  • Interesting (26/10/2022, 17:43) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Some good stuff here. Major challenge to these suggestions would be NOT to allow appointment of cabinet members who have not been elected. The corruption that always comes with this is toxic. Civil servants, tendered consultancy advisors and elected officials only. No privately appointed people. Including the Speaker.
  • Mustang (27/10/2022, 03:38) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    @Interesting, agree that the commentary suggested good stuff. However, on your trepidation that that staffing the cabinet with non-elected officials would be highly prone to corruption. But both elected and non-elected officials can be prone to corruption. To prevent or deter corruption, would harder penalties/actions and strong and effective oversight/checks and balances. The HOA/Legislature role is to legislate with strong policies and the cabinet’s is to execute the policies. The HOA and Judiciary should serve as an independent check on the Cabinet. The Judiciary is also a check on the HOA. E. Leonard talked about the separation of powers. Well, a non-elected cabinet would be a step forwarding in meeting the separation of powers requirement. Additionally, you disagree with Leonard that HOA plays a secondary to the Cabinet. I think that you will agree that there is little independence and separation between the HOA and Cabinet. The HOA and Cabinet are made of the same people. Typically, the government has the support of at least 7 of the 13 members in the HOA; therefore, it (government) can pass any piece of legislation that comes to the floor. The force of collective responsibility is at play. Of course, lurking in the background (well the power of assent is not so much in the background; it should be part of the calculus in crafting legislation) is the Governor’s power of assent. Moreover, when things are not going so well the people tend to blame government, not necessarily the HOA.
  • class mate (27/10/2022, 12:25) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Class mate, thinking outside the box, the commentary on the Westminster system is great start for the upcoming debate on the constitutional review. You took the debate beyond the typical boiler plate used in OTs constitutions. Changing the constitution to allow the BVI electorate to vote directly for the Premier should be on the Constitutional Review Committee list of items for change. The people should pick the top leader, not a few elected leaders who may not have even gotten a majority of the vote. The VI people too should have input on who is sent out from the UK to represent them as governor. How can you represent a people when the people know nought about you? This is a slap in the face and an insult to the BVI people in the 21st Century.
  • Disinterested (27/10/2022, 13:51) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    E. Leonard, like the read. But got one slight disagreement with the suggestions: Establishing a 7-9 directly elected Senate. The BVI already has too many elected representatives. It has 13 elected representatives to represent approximately 34,000 people. That is one representative per approx 2600 people. This level of representation would be fitting be fitting in the horse, donkey and mule time, not today. Instead of reducing the level of representation you want to increase it. The politicians definitely will frown on reducing the level of representation. Anegada with a population of approx 300 people, and Jost Van Dyke also with 300 people each want their own representative. No diss to the Anegadians and Jost Van Dykians, but what is needed is a higher quality of representation. Both Anegada and Jost Van Dyke needs to get their commensurate share of budget resources. Can somebody any body tell me what are the benefits , if any, of a Senate.
  • Ne Timeas (27/10/2022, 17:48) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Undoubtedly, the current link between the legislative (HOA) and Cabinet needs to be delink in order to meet the doctrine of separation of powers. As another blogger noted, the HoA and Cabinet are made of some of the same members. So where is the separation? There is no daylight between the HoA and Cabinet. Theoretically, the three branches, i.e., judicial, legislative, and cabinet are supposed to have equal status. In my view, the Cabinet is the dominant between it and the HoA. As an example, let’s take a look at financial expenditure. HoA approves the budget and it seems to out of picture after that. The Cabinet incur expenses without for the most part any involvement by the HOA. A case in point is the $7.2M BVI Airways boondoggle. The HoA should have been involved in an expenditure of such magnitude. I will make a guess that the $40M Social Security grant which should have been a loan was probable not accepted and approved by the HoA. If this assumption is false, I stand corrected. All grants above a nominal value should be accepted by the HoA. In your commentary you touch tangentially on the assent power of the governor. The assent power seems like an unaccountable power, i.e., the governor refuses to assent to a bill and that seems like the end of the line for the HoA and the people. He HoA needs some mechanism of redress for non assent. As you (Leonard) have noted many times in other blogs the following, non-assent is rare in the UK. Once a bill is passed in Parliament, there is almost a 100% certainty that it will be assented to by the monarch. King Charles III is the new monarchy so we’ll see if that trend continues. Nonetheless, the last time that a monarch didn’t give assent to a bill was in 1707 under Queen Anne——Scottish Militia Bill. Non-assent is another story in the BVI. The Constitutional Review Committee needs to take strong and serious look at this.
  • E (27/10/2022, 19:47) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    U JUST LIKE CSC , BOTH BOF YIU WOULD MAKE A GOOD PREMIER & DEPUTY ???? FOR LA LA LAND
  • erose (28/10/2022, 05:54) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    One of the things that needs to be looked at is the Westminster System of Government as a whole, which is archaic and challenging for a modern. In a democracy, tunnel rush no one branch has total influence over the government. Several Caribbean nations have Westminister-based structures (or UK model)
  • Curious (28/10/2022, 13:06) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    What is the electoral college reference. Do we need term limits
  • Stone Cold Truth (28/10/2022, 19:26) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    The stone cold truth is that few, if any, of the suggestions are going to bear fruit. At best, it will be a mental exercise. The UK run things and it gave birth to the Westminster system; it cherishes its baby and will not allow any tinkering with it. The upcoming constitutional review will closely follow the ‘boiler plate’ for Overseas Territories with little, if any, substantial change. Any changes will for the most part what the UK wants, not what the government, the people’s representative wants. I long for the day when I can cast my vote directly for Premier instead of the Premier being anointed by a few elected members of the HoA. The equivocation of the HoA appointing the Premier to an ‘electoral college’ is interesting.


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