DEPUTY SPEAKER HON. LATOYA JONES EARNS ACCLAIM FOR EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP IN PARLIAMENT

While Speaker Blanchette Stumbles Under Weight of Arrogance, Absenteeism, and the Historic Failure to Produce Minutes in Over Three Years

By SKN Times Editorial Board

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The National Assembly of St. Kitts and Nevis has, in recent times, become a study in contrasts — between dignified competence and careless disregard for democratic norms. At the center of this contrast stands Deputy Speaker Hon. Latoya Jones, who has quietly but decisively outshined the Speaker of the National Assembly, Lanien Blanchette, whose tenure has been marred by arrogance, bias, and administrative paralysis unprecedented in modern parliamentary history.

A Deputy Defined by Dignity and Discipline

Deputy Speaker Jones has earned widespread commendation from parliamentarians, observers, and the public for her composure, fairness, and professionalism in presiding over the National Assembly. Her stewardship has been marked by a level of impartiality and respect for procedure that evokes the true spirit of parliamentary democracy.

When she assumes the Speaker’s chair — a task that has become frequent due to Blanchette’s recurring absences — Jones demonstrates the hallmarks of leadership the chamber sorely needs: balance, restraint, and integrity.
She listens, she adjudicates without bias, and she ensures that debate — however spirited — remains anchored in decorum and substance. Her quiet authority restores confidence in a legislature that has increasingly teetered toward dysfunction.

Political analysts describe her as “the adult in the room,” a leader capable of navigating partisanship without becoming entangled in it. Even government members, while guarded in public, privately acknowledge that Jones brings “a sense of fairness and respect that has long been missing from the Speaker’s chair.”

A Speaker Adrift in Arrogance and Administrative Collapse

In stark contrast, Speaker Lanien Blanchette’s tenure has descended into an era of embarrassment and institutional decay. Her handling of parliamentary proceedings has been characterized by hostility toward Opposition members, erratic rulings, and an unmistakable pattern of bias that erodes confidence in the impartiality of the Speaker’s office.

Even more alarming, under Blanchette’s watch, the National Assembly has failed to produce official parliamentary minutes for more than three years — an omission so egregious that it reportedly constitutes the first such lapse in any functioning democracy in modern history.
The minutes of parliamentary sittings are not ceremonial formalities; they are the official record of governance, legislative intent, and national accountability. Their absence represents not only bureaucratic negligence but a constitutional and historical disgrace that undermines public trust in the legislature itself.

While Blanchette has been frequently abroad on what critics deride as “joyrides” and “conference tourism,” the business of Parliament — the people’s business — has languished in procedural darkness. The Speaker’s apparent disinterest in her fundamental duties, coupled with her disdainful treatment of Opposition Members, has alienated even her supporters and invited calls for her immediate resignation.

Jones as the De Facto Guardian of Order

In Blanchette’s repeated absences, Hon. Latoya Jones has effectively become the de facto Speaker, ensuring that the Assembly continues to function with dignity. Her sessions are marked by punctuality, balanced moderation, and a calm, authoritative command of the rules.

Her leadership reflects the spirit of service rather than self-importance — a refreshing contrast to Blanchette’s increasingly imperial style. Under Jones, debate flows freely but respectfully; under Blanchette, it often degenerates into procedural hostility and unnecessary confrontation.

This consistent pattern has not gone unnoticed. Civil society observers, constitutional commentators, and parliamentary veterans have begun to suggest — not merely in jest — that Jones has already proven herself more capable, respected, and trusted than the Speaker herself.

The Case for Immediate Change

The continued failure to table official minutes of Parliament — a record now approaching forty months of administrative blackout — cannot be excused, ignored, or normalized.
Speaker Blanchette’s tenure has become a cautionary tale of what happens when arrogance outpaces competence, and when political favoritism eclipses the solemn duty to the Constitution.

The time has come for accountability.
If the Speaker cannot fulfill her obligations — or worse, refuses to do so — she should resign forthwith and allow Deputy Speaker Hon. Latoya Jones to assume the role she has already demonstrated she can perform with excellence.

A Moment of Reckoning for Parliamentary Integrity

History will remember this moment as a defining test of St. Kitts and Nevis’s parliamentary democracy. Will the Assembly continue to tolerate dysfunction cloaked in arrogance, or will it embrace a model of fairness, professionalism, and respect — exemplified by Hon. Latoya Jones?

For now, the verdict of the public is unmistakable: the Deputy has outclassed the Speaker, both in competence and in character.
And in a democracy built on accountability, that moral victory may soon become a constitutional one.