By Robert Andre Emmanuel
St Mary’s South MP Kelvin ‘Shugy’ Simon has denied any intention to leave the UPP party and run as an independent or create a new party.
His comments to Observer come amid a series of notable resignations from the opposition party in the last few weeks – exits UPP leader Jamale Pringle and chairperson Gisele Isaac have claimed are “staged” to pressure them to quit their roles.
Simon and St George’s MP Algernon Watts were both named in a Facebook post this week by a page purporting to be a media agency as being next in line to leave the party.
Simon criticised the spread of unverified information, stating that the rumours are completely unfounded.
“I’m appealing to people in these sensitive times to be more responsible, especially from the journalism corner,” he urged.
“If it’s not factual, if it cannot be proven, it should not be out there,” he told Observer.
Watts responded to the post with a comment stating that the claims were “erroneous” and made with the intention of “getting clicks”.
“I’ll simply ask, nicely, that when you’re publishing supposed actions by me that you call me to verify,” he added.
The comments come at a crucial time for the UPP, as it grapples with high-profile departures and allegations of deep-seated internal conflicts.
While acknowledging the challenges, MP Simon called for unity to stabilise the party and rebuild public trust.
“It’s not a good look for the party,” he admitted. “It’s weakening the confidence that the public has in the party and it’s really damaging our chances in significant ways… The nation right now is psychologically stressed with all these resignations,” Simon said.
When speaking about the psychological toll these developments are taking on party supporters, he noted the emotional investment that many persons have in their political affiliations.
