United Workers Party | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Leader | Allen Chastanet |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Merger of | People's Progressive Party National Labour Movement |
| Ideology | Christian democracy Conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Regional affiliation | Caribbean Democrat Union |
| International affiliation | International Democracy Union |
| House of Assembly | 2 / 17 |
| Senate | 3 / 11 |
| Website | |
| uwpstlucia | |
TheUnited Workers Party is aconservativepolitical party inSaint Lucia currently led by former Tourism MinisterAllen Chastanet, who defeated former Prime MinisterStephenson King in a July 28, 2013 leadership election. The party was led previously bySir John Compton, the party's founder.
The party was formed before the1964 general elections by an alliance of thePeople's Progressive Party and the National Labour Movement, a splinter group founded by three members (John Compton, Vincent Monrose, and Maurice Mason) from the rulingSaint Lucia Labour Party.[1]John Compton was the political leader andHenry Giraudy was the chairman of the party. They won the elections, taking six of the eight seats. They remained in power after winning elections in1969 and1974, before losing the1979 elections to the Labour Party. They returned to power after winning 14 of the 17 seats in the1982 elections, and remained in power after two elections in 1987 and one in1992. The Labour Party won the1997 and2001 elections, but the UWP regained power in the2006 elections. Since then neither party has managed to retain office for more than a single term. In 2011 the UWP lost the election to Labour, regained power in the 2016 elections, taking 11 of the 17 seats in the House[2], only to return to Opposition with just 2 seats after the2021 election.
The United Workers Party is a member of theCaribbean Democrat Union, the regional organization of the global conservativeInternational Democracy Union.
Symbol
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Election | Term of office | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 |  | John Compton (1925-2007) | — | 22 February 1979 | 2 July 1979 | 130 days | [5] |
| 1982 1987 (6 Apr.) 1987 (30 Apr.) 1992 | 3 May 1982 | 2 April 1996 | 13 years, 335 days | [5] | |||
| 2006 | 11 December 2006 | 7 September 2007 † | 270 days | [6][5] | |||
| 2 |  | Vaughan Lewis (born 1940) | — | 2 April 1996 | 24 May 1997 | 1 year, 52 days | [5] |
| 3 |  | Stephenson King (born 1958) | 7 September 2007 | 30 November 2011 | 4 years, 84 days | [5] | |
| 4 |  | Allen Chastanet (born 1960) | 2016 | 7 June 2016 | 28 July 2021 | 5 years, 51 days | [7] |
| Election | Party leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | John Compton | 9,615 | 51.5% | 6 / 10 |  6 | 1st | Majority government |
| 1969 | 13,328 | 58.1% | 6 / 10 |  | 1st | Majority government | |
| 1974 | 17,300 | 53.4% | 10 / 17 | 4 | 1st | Majority government | |
| 1979 | 19,706 | 43.8% | 5 / 17 |  5 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1982 | 27,252 | 56.2% | 14 / 17 | 9 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
| 1987 (6 Apr) | 25,892 | 52.5% | 9 / 17 | 5 | 1st | Majority government | |
| 1987 (30 Apr) | 28,046 | 53.2% | 9 / 17 | | 1st | Majority government | |
| 1992 | 33,562 | 56.7% | 11 / 17 | 2 | 1st | Majority government | |
| 1997 | Vaughan Lewis | 26,325 | 36.6% | 1 / 17 | 10 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2001 | Morella Joseph | 23,007 | 37.8% | 3 / 17 | 2 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2006 | John Compton | 38,894 | 51.3% | 11 / 17 | 8 | 1st | Majority government |
| 2011 | Stephenson King | 39,100 | 46.96% | 6 / 17 | 5 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2016 | Allen Chastanet | 46,183 | 54.79% | 11 / 17 | 5 | 1st | Majority government |
| 2021 | 37.481 | 42.91% | 2 / 17 | 9 | 2nd | Opposition |
