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The Executive Council
The Executive Council is responsible for the general management of the party and consist of the eight officers of the Party, ten members elected from the General Council and six members co-opted by the Executive on the nomination of the President and General Secretary. The Chairman of the Council is the President of the Party. The Council meets at least once a month.
The Democratic League of Women
The Democratic Labour Party has been in existence from May 1955. From its beginning, the Party has been committed to the fundamental objective of the development of Barbados. This included not only infrastructural development but the development of services which impacted on the da to day lives of the people, and most definitively that of women.
This Party has been in the forefront of the improvement of women. Since 1961, the D.L.P. has improved maternal and child health services and has further provided the opportunities for women to have shared in the general economic, educational and social advancement of the country. The passing of the Succession Act enabled the common law wife and the 'illegitimate' to inherit property. Other pieces of legislation relating to the security of jobs of pregnant women, ensuring the rights of women through establishing a Commission on the Rights of women were but a few of the other pieces of legislation through which the Party championed the cause of working class women of this country.
It is this framework that the women of this great Party, having recognized that the care and advancement of women was an integral aspect of the growth and development of the Party, that a group formed the Democratic League of Women.
The Young Democrats
The Young Democrats was formed in 1976 by a group of younger members in the Democratic Labour Party who felt that this forum would provide the young people with the opportunity to be heard and to play a role in the decision making process of the country.
The Aims and Objectives
The aims and objectives of the Young Democrats are:
- To help promote the general development of the youth in Barbados
- To promote the philosophies and principles of the Democratic Labour Party.
- To promote and foster better relationships among young people in Barbados.
The Young Democrats began with only five persons, namely Leroy Brathwaite, Clevedon Mayers, Tony Miller and Mark Todd. These members used this forum to air their views publicly in support of or in disagreement with the Government.
They started outreach programmes and were able by their pronouncements to attract young people from every strata of the society. In 1981 elections were held for the various officers to formalize the business of the organisation. These were President, Vice President, Chairman of Meetings, Secretary and Treasurer.
Meetings were held once every three months in the first instance, but as time went on and the members and interest grew the executive felt that they should hold meetings every month instead.
The Barbados Labour Party formed the Government from 1976 and when Elections were called in 1986 the Young Democrats mounted political platforms at various venues around the country and carried out house canvasses to which members were well received.
The Democratic Labour Party won the Elections in May 1986, and became the Government and at that time, the more competent members of the Young Democrats were sought after and appointments made.
Other members were appointed to School Boards or State Corporations to assist Government in carrying out its policies.
In 1991 the Democratic Labour Party was re-elected and some members who were candidates gained seats and became members of Parliament, some becoming Ministers.
Projections For The Future
The Young Democrats will continue to be of service to the people of Barbados, particularly the youth. Discussions have commenced between the Young Democrats and the Administration of the Academy of Politics to conduct courses in political science and issue certificates to successful participants as well as to implore government to devise programmes to assist the youth in the country by seeking opportunities which will enhance their knowledge and development in the area and their general welfare.
The James Tudor Institute of Politics
The Institute of Politics formerly the Academy of Politics is the education arm of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). Soon after gaining independence for Barbados after nearly three and a half centuries of colonial rule - the first two centuries were notorious for the slave structure - the DLP decided that education, formal and informal, was the way to go to liberate the masses from mental slavery.
In 1962 the Party had already introduced a programme of free secondary education making it possible for the children of all Barbadian citizens to have an equal opportunity to gain quality education. It next turned attention to those who had to participate in the election process and in the running of the country but who through no fault of their own had a gap in their education. The Party concluded that the best approach was by way of a non-formal method of instruction. It was in this vein that the Academy of Politics was conceptualized and brought into being. The first Principal was Deighton Griffith who took the Academy through its formative years. He was succeeded by Sir Cliviston King who then handed the reins to Tennyson Beckles.
In the initial stage of its operations The Academy concentrated more or less on once a week lectures/panel discussions. The format was for distinguished personalities from both within and outside of the Party to lead participants in discussions on topics relating to nation building. These discussions were usually very lively and gave many candidates the opportunity to wet their feet in the debate arena.
In May 2000 the Academy was presented with a new charter by Party President David Thompson and renamed in honour of the late stalwart Sir James Cameron Tudor. The Academy is presently responsible for training and the lecture programme of the party.
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