Opposition MPs again accuse House Speaker of bias

 

Opposition MP Angela Brown Burke, responded in detail on Tuesday to Speaker of the House of Representatives Juliet Holness, a week after she was suspended for the rest of that day's sitting for lifting the parliamentary mace.

 

Dr Brown Burke, used a portion of her contribution to the Sectoral Debate on Tuesday to argue the case for her protest action last week, alleging that opposition members are frequently the denied the opportunity to be heard in Parliament.

 

She elaborated on that position later in a press conference at Gordon House, saying she had attempted, through the Speaker, to formally address the matter but was not given the opportunity to do so.

 

She explained that she consulted the Standing Orders of Parliament, and, guided by its relevant rules, wrote a letter to the Speaker, "asking for an opportunity to make a personal explanation."  

 

She said the Clerk to the Houses of Parliament later confirmed that the letter had been received and passed on to Speaker Holness , but "I have not even been accorded the courtesy of by the Speaker, of saying 'I have received your correspondence; I will get back in touch with you,' but the Speaker comes this afternoon and she sits in the chair of Speaker and proceeds to lecture all of us."

 

Mrs Brown Burke was supported by her colleague MP Dayton Campbell, who questioned what he claimed was as the Speaker's lack of impartiality in managing the affairs of the House.

 

He argues that "if it is beyond her to be an unbiased arbitrator, then maybe the governing party needs to look at appointing somebody else as Speaker, and if it is beyond us, collectively, to have someone that is elected operate in that way... maybe we should move to having an independent Speaker of the House."