Prime Minister Mia Mottley is on leave until November 3, 2022 and the public – despite offering strident dissatisfaction about the colossal muck up at the Ministry of Education arising from the infamous IDB Science Test – not a single person has been terminated for such a fatal mistake. The only casualty appears to be Peter Wickham.
Vote!
Continue readingThe blogmaster in between the hustle and bustle of yesterday was able to listen to a few minutes of The Peter Wickham Show. Piquing the interest was an exchange with a caller who sought to raise the issue of Black enfranchisement. Peter Wickham exposing his naïveté was unable to fathom- despite the caller’s best effort to explain- how a country that is Black majority finds its people owning a disproportionate amount of wealth and economic influence in the country, a state brought forward from being an enslaved people.
The argument that because Barbados is majority Black means it inevitably empowers Blacks in Barbados to be craftsmen of their fate is simplistic. Regarding the financial sector Wickham thought he was stoutly defending his perspective by mentioning that bank managers are almost 100% Black. He failed to mention all banks in Barbados are foreign owned and therefore Black managers are binded to policies handed to them. He mentioned the credit unions and other non bank entities that are Black owned. He failed to mention that same institutions have to comply to regulations of international agencies to ensure good standing.
What about the business sector? What is the concentration of ownership of the tourism sector? After answering these questions- who owns the significant interest in retail (food and appliances) sector, who controls distributive trade in Barbados. Do we have active agencies that lend and support entrepreneurs and startup businesses in a meaningful way? What about export earning businesses? What is the predominant ownership?
Let us turn our attention to power generation. Why a Black nation that is strategically located close to the equator, we have been too slow to democratize ownership of this sector? We were quick to sell Barbados Light & Power, a strategic asset. Some of us had hoped by now the legacy of Oliver Headley would have inspired Barbadians to build on it by becoming a model country for the adoption of renewable energy.
The last point, Black empowerment is about developing a way of thinking in the majority of our people that shouts to the world – we are confident in our abilities to compete and support a quality life for our people. Having this discuss is not about çussin’ minorities. It is about having a mature discussion towards building an equitable society on the little isl;and we love so much.
Listen to the exchange at 2hrs 20 minutes.
https://downtobrasstacks.castos.com/episodes/brasstacks-mar-21st-2022
Some issues it is more effective to avoid being prolix. The blogmaster will make the point by stating the following.
Voice of Barbados (VOB) popular mid-afternoon talk show program should be renamed The Peter Wickham Show on Mondays which is his scheduled day.
The Donville Inniss trial in the USA suffocated the local newsfeed in recent days and prevented the blogmaster – absent the noise – from sharing thoughts about other matters. Now that we have touchdown in the Inniss matter with the predictable verdict being returned, it is time.
Two images were posted in the Nation newspaper on the 12th and 18th of January 2020 which captured the attention of this blogmaster.
One image emblazoned on the Sunday’s front page of the 12 January 2020 showed the beaming countenance of Peter Wickham and Giancarlo with the caption – “Regional political consultant was formally married to his partner of the past ten years, Giancarlo Cardinale yesterday at the Hotel de Ville in Strasbourg, France …
Some will accuse the blogmaster of being homophobic after posting this blog. You are free to do so. Individuals are free to live lifes as they chose, once done within the boundary of the law. We live in a world where same sex unions are being given the ‘weight’ traditional marriages. The beef this blogmaster has with the Nation Media House is the decision to insert the picture on the front page AND referring to the union as a marriage.
Barbadians are a people wedded to the traditional view that a marriage is ” established between two people of the opposite sex.” The Nation newspaper as the leading media outlet in the country has a duty to responsibly share information that accurately influence given the power of media to influence (manipulate) public opinion. After all we have the vulnerable in society to shepherd. Posting Wickhams so called marriage on the front page brings into serious question the quality of decision-making at the Editor’s desk at Nation Publishing.
The second picture does not require an exercise in the prolix and can be explained in a few words – one must thrive to make the best decisions at all times Verla et al.
Discuss for 10 marks.
Regional political scientist and pollster, Peter Wickham, was quoted in Demerara Waves news on July 14, 2019, as saying that Guyana’s APNU+AFC coalition government should go to the polls with the current voters which was used in the 2015 when the coalition won. Evidently Peter does not have a sufficiency of knowledge and information to make an informed judgment on the legality and acceptability of the purported voters list. Thus, his pronouncements are therefore misguided in your for the following reasons.
Grenville Phillips II, leader of Solutions Barbados
CADRES recently conducted a poll in order to identify voters’ political party preferences. Most voters polled reportedly preferred either the BLP or the DLP. After analysing the poll, I understood how voters could be easily manipulated.
When asking questions, there is normally a context around which each question is framed, that can result in different answers. For example, there is a difference in asking “Should we ban Gromoxone?”, “Gromoxone is an effective herbicide that keeps gardens tidy, should we ban Gromoxone?” and “Gromoxone is the poison of choice for suicidal persons, should we ban Gromoxone?” The results will tend to vary depending on how the question is framed.
In the first question, responders are not given a frame of reference. In the second, the frame is positive – “keeps gardens tidy”. In the third, the frame is negative – “poison of choice for suicidal persons”. The frame in which the question is placed can allow us to accurately predict the majority response to the last two questions. However, the majority response to the first unframed question can also be determined based on the national frame at the time.
For example. If in one week, there were 5 publically reported suicides by drinking Gromoxone, just before persons were polled, then the question would have already been framed by the tragic events. The emotional response would likely be that many would support some type of restriction. However, a different response can be expected if there were no suicides by drinking Gromoxone in the past 15 years, and if the media were not participating in a campaign against Gromoxone. Therefore, what is trending in the media can result in misleading poll results.
CADRES’ poll questions were already framed by the news media reports of current events, and by public commentators who have access to the media. News media have a higher responsibility to be fair during times of national decisions. One side of a national discussion should not be deprived of ‘oxygen’, while allowing the other side unfettered access to the media. The public should be exposed to both sides of a debate.
The national frame around any question of the economy is that the ruling DLP administration is responsible for the current economic hardship, and they are incapable of managing our national economy. The recent poll results appear to confirm this public sentiment. However, what if the public were given the whole truth?
If the public is not told about the reckless and unsustainable borrowing during the BLP administration, then they will reasonably tend to blame the DLP, who must repay these debts, for their current circumstances. However, if the public was told the truth, that both the BLP and the DLP administrations have brought us to the point of economic ruin, and that both parties’ policies are designed to generally keep most Barbadians house-poor and living pay-cheque to pay-cheque, then perhaps they would be willing to look at the policies of a third party.
If the public is told to dismiss all third parties because they are just parties of 1 or 5 persons, then they would likely dismiss them. However, if they were told the truth that Solutions Barbados is the only third party with 25 candidates and intends to run 30 competent candidates, then perhaps they would dismiss the clever but inaccurately defined frame, and actually consider Solutions Barbados.
If the public is told that Solutions Barbados has no plan to address Barbados’ failing economy, then they would likely dismiss them. However, if they were ever told the truth that Solutions Barbados is the only party to have published a non-austerity economic plan over 2 years ago, for rigorous public scrutiny, then they would have an accurate frame, and not the fake frame that others are actively promoting. The plan is on SolutionsBarbados.com.
What if the austerity, harsh medicine, long hardship, bitter pills, and no-easy-fixes that the BLP and DLP are promising were actually explained to voters? What if the BLP and DLP actually told the voters “If you vote for us, then your salary will be reduced, you will lose your job, you will lose your house if you are not earning foreign currency, and you will also lose everything that you are purchasing on credit. You will suck salt, and your children will suck whatever is left after the salt that you have voted to suck is gone.”
In Guyana, the IMF made them double their income tax rates and devalue their currency by 70%. Guyana was left with a ruined economy, dilapidated infrastructure, shortage of critical supplies, reduced social services, mass emigration of professionals, and 75% of the population in poverty.
Who would be so lunatic to vote for that bitter pill? The CADRES poll demonstrated that Barbadian voters would enthusiastically vote for the economic ruin of their households, communities and country if the question was not accurately framed.
For completion, I should identify another possible explanation. We are so accustomed to not believing what our elected politicians promise, that we simply do not believe them when they promise us that their policies will drive us and our children into poverty.
Barbados based pollster Peter Wickham of CADRES has drawn the ire of UWI, Cave Hill Lecturer Dr. Tennyson Joseph. A recent CADRES poll has determined that the St. Lucia general elections called for 6 June 2015 too close to call. St. Lucian Joseph served briefly as the Administrative Attaché to the Prime Minister of St. Lucia Kenny Anthony between 2000 and 2003 and is vested in the politics of that country.
In a radio interview with St. Lucia radio talk show host Shelton Daniel, Joseph dealt harshly with Wickham’s narrow analysis and attempt to use ‘political sleight of hand’ to manipulate public opinion leading into the general elections. Joseph has advised Wickham to remove himself from the political paymasters (BU’s characterization).
Relevant Link: St Lucia election ‘too close to call’
Peter Wickham – CADRES
Does it sound familiar? Just rewind to 2013 and the Barbados general election. A particular pollster/political guru had the DLP to get whitewashed; or as we would say in local lingo – ‘catspraddled’. Well, we all know the outcome; the DLP was returned to office, and that pollster/pundit, who had egg all over his face, now spends every waking hour excoriating the government on air and in print. Big Joker!
Heard him a week or so ago pontificating that the Scottish people deserve better and a ‘Yes’ vote would shake-up Whitehall. However, when a caller tried to put him on the spot and asked him to predict the outcome, he was somewhat non-committal and hedging; probably remembering how he and the Belle Tower made a fool of themselves in 2013. I am waiting to hear that pollster on last night’s result. I am sure he will do a volte-face; that is his accustomed mo.
Scotland’s Referendum is an object lesson for the self-righteous. People Power always wins out. For the record, I was hoping and wishing for a ‘No’ result. It makes sense. Alex Salmond wanted to have his cake and eat it too – aka- the best of both worlds.
Caswell Franklyn, Head of Unity Workers Union
On July 6, 2014 the country was informed via the Sunday Sun that the 68 candidates in the February 21, 2013 general election spent just over $2.2 million on their election bids.
The report went on to say that regional political pollster, Peter Wickham, had voiced his concern about the manner in which the figures were collected. He called for a more robust system to collect the figures and suggested that the money declared had nothing to do with what was actually spent by the two major political parties.
Up to that point, I am in complete agreement with Mr. Wickham. Thereafter, his analysis exposed a gap in his knowledge of our electoral laws that caused him to make some erroneous conclusions. As a result, he merely provided excuses for politicians operating in our flawed electoral system. Barbados has more than adequate election laws to handle any perceived irregularity; the problems come from the lack of enforcement.
This week I intended to write part 3 of my mini-series on pensions but I could not allow the information attributed to Mr. Wickham to take root and spread. However, I would first like to deal with the one area on which we agree, and that relates to the under-reporting of election expenses.
Peter Wickham at the ‘vanguard’ of the Gay lobby in Barbados
BU has written and posted extensively about the issue of homosexuality. BU’s position is well documented. We do not subscribe to the lifestyle but will defend the right of the homosexual to co-exist in our society as defined by our society. It has proved and will continue to prove not a simple matter to resolve.
In the case of Barbados the homosexual debate has become interesting on a number of fronts. It is an issue which Peter Wickham has taken to wearing on his sleeve. He uses his weekly newspaper column and the talk show on Voice of Barbados radio to bombard citizens with his view. But guess what, this is his prerogative to take. Perhaps his advocacy would take on credibility if he were to declare his hand.
It is interesting to note that leading up to the last general election Ministers Adriel Brathwaite (Attorney General) and Stephen Lashley (Family and Youth) reaffirmed government’s position to support what BU describes as the traditional lifestyle of man and woman, and marriage, man and woman. It is obvious the two ministers felt bold to make public their positions because they believe it resonates favourably with the majority of Barbadians poll or no poll. Where do we go from here if government is not inclined to endorse homosexuality as a normal way of life?
Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart known for his figurative language
Goodness gracious me. It’s happening all over again. DEMS’s worse nightmare as the beasts of Ephesus have once more risen to torment and torture the presumptuous. Wickham’s latest ‘second poll’ we mean. With it, many DLP hacks’ hopes stampeded and diminished after yesterday’s rekindle of sparks. PM Stuart’s nemesis too, as his popularity has once more plummeted back to behind that of Opposition Leader Owen Arthur’s. What does this mean? Ask BU’s Hammy, who yesterday had most ceremoniously went to the pulpit and said a prayer to his Gods, after hearing the now premature good news. On thy breast plate, Freundel, once more unsheaf thy sword … whether the mother of all battles or the slaughter at Little Bow, definitely a wash pan a licks promised and wounds of a gushing kind galore.
But Wickham dear Wickham why the hair raising turn? You certainly caused many Bees to sit up from their honey making churns. Have you not heard that such thrift is not good for the feint and weak hearted turks? Or is this some new kind of preamble to reactivate the indifferent to arise and lurk? Which ever way is up, it certainly has worked, for never in another General Election in Barbados has there been this much ephemeral. Could this be a permanent fixture of how things will be done from here on? Polling with a difference, a last minute thrill.
Peter Wickham, Head of CADRES
The most recent CADRES poll which surprised many that DLP leader Fruendel Stuart had eased pass Arthur has been reversed. Under pressure to explain the weekend poll which bucked a trend, Head of CADRES Peter Wickham took the sensible decision to redo the poll. The euphoria displayed by the DLPites has been short lived because the new poll has Arthur leading Stuart 37% to 32% with a 7% swing in play.
Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart eases pass Opposition Owen Arthur in recent poll – photo credit: Nation newspaper
According to the latest Cadres Poll, Freundel is out front. Wow!!! With that said, the DEMS must, therefore, press home the advantage as a result of our favourable showing.
However, I am somewhat sceptical about Wickham’s findings, that despite the fact that Freundel is ahead of Arthur, the DLP is still marginally trailing the Bees. I wonder if it is a case of who pays the piper, calls the tune! We all know the obvious bias of the Nation Group of companies. But, however you analyse the poll, it’s a body-blow for the Bees.
I am no political scientist, but I believe I have more than a modicum of common sense. It stands to reason, and rightly so, that if Freundel has surged ahead (in my humble opinion, he was ahead for some time) he would consequently bring along the DLP.
So, it must have been heart-wrenching for the Nation and the know-it-all Wickham, the avowed nemeses of the Prime Minister, to admit that Freundel Stuart is ahead of ‘Owing Arthur’ in their latest poll. Only last month, they were arguing it will be a landslide for their side. This must be a bitter pill for them to swallow.
Minister David Estwick responded to the privatization debate of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) on the weekend. There are many who believe he should be at the helm of the finance ministry. His blustery delivery on the weekend adds another view to that of Peter Wickham the pollster.
Peter Wickham, Head of CADRES
BU has hesitantly support the science of polling and by extension the work CADRES has done in this area over the years. In Barbados CADRES has developed an enviable track record. Peter Wickham, head of CADRES has always published the methodology used, a desirable approach. Wickham has been at pain to point out that his samples are random. Over the years he has been able to gather learnings with the result his poll predictions are always close to bull-eye when the real result is known.
However many – including BU – have become concerned at the unfettered access to media space where Wickham has been peddling his views. BU has no problem with Wickham being a social commentator, it is a free country, however a problem emerges if he is able to propagate views formed out of his polling through his contributions weekly newspaper columns and as a host of a popular talk show. Bear in mind his polls capture the views of the population at the time taken. BU suggests that the apparent success of CADRES polls fuels Wickham’s credibility as a social commentator. The result: his views have become influential on the very population he will have to poll in the future.
The Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) political strategist Maureen Holder, who succeeded Peter Wickham, has been very scathing in her critique of the methodology of the recent CADRES poll. UWI lecturer Dr. Tennyson Joseph has also been searching in his feedback of the poll in his weekly column. Many have dismissed these concerns based on party stripes or ignorance about the science of polling. We should all take a deep breath and dispassionately discuss if there is merit to the concerns raised by the Holders, Josephs and others.
Maureen Holder (r) replaced Peter Wickham (l) as resident political scientist at the CBC when his contract was not renewed.
It has been some time since I have made a contribution to the blog, but at this time I feel compelled to put pen to paper once again so as to state some facts.Since the May 5th and most recently the September 30th a political poll was published The member base of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) seems to have gone on a campaign to assassinate the character of pollster Peter Wickham who carried out the poll commissioned by the Nation newspaper .
I have never meet Mr Wickham but I know of his outstanding work as a pollster in Barbados and in the Caribbean. Needless to say wherever he has done his polling, political or otherwise he has always been correct. Mr Wickham was trained by the late Pat Emmanuel and then worked under him from 1994 until his death. He carried out his first poll in 1998 and has done so successfully since in Barbados and throughout the wider Caribbean. There is no doubt that he has been successful. The Cadres poll which he directs is no fly by night firm nor is it a hit and miss guess work organisation.
Polling is a science and somehow he seems to have perfected it and with every poll he puts his professional reputation on the line. This is why I do not understand the thinking of the members and or supporters of the DLP and especially some Ministers of Government. It makes you wonder if this is the same Peter Wickham who carried out the poll which was commission by the same Nation newspaper in 2008.
“Loose lips sink ships”
Maureen Holder replaced Peter Wickham as the CBC resident political analyst
Yesterday’s onslaught by CBC resident political analyst on TV Morning Barbados to denounce CADRES polls smacks on political opportunism. Since when was Maureen an experienced pollster anyway? From the criticisms levied and brazen arguments put forward, one would have believed she had experience in this field and conducted many many polls, locally and regionally, comparable to CADRES.The unfortunate incident could do nothing more, than to discredit a professional pollster and affiliated organization CADRES. In boomerang, enabling the opportunity of placing one’s creditability on the line, come the morning after elections, should one be proved wrong. The amount of egg that would have to be caressed, should Wickham’s polls prove correct, is enough to put Star Chick out of business for a month and possibly destroy one’s own credibility.
Since when do professionals exhibit such officious behaviour any way ?
Dear me Madam, what were you thinking? Could there be some other logical explanation for the now accepted regular BLEEP or has the Carson contagious disease gone epidemic?
Peter Wickham, Head of CADRES
BU’s position on the influence which Cadres opinion polls maybe having on Bajans is a matter of record. The fact that some have perfected the methodology to project the ‘science of polling’ as the gospel according to Mathew, Mark, Luke and Peter has become worrying to some. Is it that a good poll accurately measures the ‘mind’ of the person polled? Do you believe the result of a poll can be used to influence the undecided and reinforce the position already canvassed by the pollster? The fair minded have to admit that there is some robust questioning required to better understand the influence polling has on shaping public opinion in a small country like Barbados. Sadly Barbadians have decided to follow the developed world and accept wholesale polling in our political space.
It is unfortunate that the Cadres Poll has become a big discussion point leading into the next general election. In a general election where some constituencies will be ‘close’, the Cadres Poll may prove to be a factor afterall. However there is another issue of concern.
Homosexuality has existed from time immemorial
With the state this country finds itself mired in God knows that some sense of levity is necessary, if only for one to maintain a semblance of sanity in these the most oppressive of times. Dennis J and Fireworks to some extent were able to do just that. Then came the monologue from one Peter Wickham on Thursday’s edition of “Brass Tacks. With three times the passion exhibited in defence of a poll that said exactly what all right minded Barbadians say publicly, Peter Wickham called to task the powers that be at Starcom Network. With the gumption of a man firmly grounded on the courage of conviction he brought to the table a subject that for one reason or another has worn the status of “Taboo” if only because hypocrisy, like the broken trident is symbolic of things Bajan.
It was on the aforementioned Brass Tacks that a caller told us that the food fed to the unborn infant created a homosexual. As if to bolster such vapidity the announcer played a nursery rhyme composed by the ANNOUNCER [Calypsonian] which sought to tell us that one could not be brought onto this earth as a person attracted to another of the same sex. Truth be told “BOTSY THEOLOGY” then as it is now, is nothing more than gift wrapped toilet tissue. The wrap and the gift both go in the same direction. Lets look at the blatant hypocrisy that has attached itself to this vapid train of thought.
Peter Wickham, Head of CADRES
The recent CADRES Poll has added fervour to the political climate in Barbados with a general election constitutionally due by April 2013 on the horizon. The poll was anonymously funded and exclusivity given to the Nation newspaper. Regrettably the information was published by the Nation in the most non-user friendly manner which made the analysis and conclusion of CADRES a challenge to follow for some.
BU is pleased to make available the CADRES Poll in its original format. Thanks to BU family member (BAFBFP) for the assist.
Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart
Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley was quoted in the press on the weekend blaming the lack of a media policy at the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) for feeding perennial controversies during the Crop Over period. To summarize his view: the ad hoc manner NCF officials have interacted with the media must stop. BU agrees with the minister that an effective media policy will always add value to the process of disseminating timely and accurate information.
To support Lashley view, we had another Lashley demonstrating why a media policy is useful. Yesterday at the St. James North Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Constituency meeting Minister of Housing Michael Lashley reacted to the CADRES poll by telling party supporters, “polls don’t vote”. Lashley who has been unusually silent in recent weeks – as well as Minister of Agriculture David Estwick – no doubt strayed from his substantive script of expounding about government’s housing program to share his views on the findings of the CADRES poll.
BU suspects that Nation newspaper reporter Mike King travelled to the St. James North Constituency meeting with great anticipation stoked by the release of the CADRES poll. Lashley did not disappoint. Here is a classic case where a media policy of government should have kicked in to guide public pronouncements about how to treat with the CADRES matter by key government officials. Especially given the nature of its findings. The nonsensical comments attributed to Minister of Housing Michael Lashley in the Nation newspaper showed clearly his comments were off the cuff and exposed a kind of lethargy by our leadership which is not welcomed in 2012.
Peter Wickham recently sacked from the CBC TV8 has been at the forefront of calling for political campaign reform in Barbados
Every so often I get the urge to contribute (?) a comment to this forum that I believe merits attention. This time around it is that of The Business of the Political Campaign and its Financing. It is an issue that is basic in determining the relevance of our electoral process and, as a result of the moneyed interests involved, is the most difficult of topics to have discussed in public.
Few people would know that a study on this topic was commissioned by the OAS back in 2003 and resulted in a report that was published about three years later. My concern with the entire topic has to do with whether or not it is an appropriate topic for consideration in our current political environment that has demonstrated little in the furtherance of the long term viability of our peoples and nation states.
Basically, in my view anyway, a political party is simply an (legal?) entity that seeks to gain administrative control over the funds in the Treasury, and that’s it. How these are spent and on whom form the essence of the business of the party. The business requires that the populace be deceived into supporting the party campaign and once successful, that control over the funds be maintained for as long as possible.
