The Tribune

As predicted, the vote of no confidence – which was switched around to become a vote of confidence – ended up in Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ favour.

It was not a ringing endorsement, full throated and enthusiastic. Indeed, he lost another member of his party in the process – Vaughn Miller MP quitting to become an independent.

Miller has been uncomfortable in the FNM for a while. Fired by Minnis from his role as a parliamentary secretary after voting against the increase in VAT, he has been a frequent critic within the FNM ranks, including on the post office issue that prompted yesterday’s vote. His criticism has hardly galvanised public opinion – and his departure makes less of a splash and more of a ripple. It would matter more if the FNM’s majority wasn’t so large – but it is.

As blows go, it’s much softer than the one landed on Minnis when fellow FNM MPS Neko Grant, Loretta Butler-Turner, Hubert Chipman, Richard Lightbourn, Theo Neilly, Andre Rollins and Edison Key signed a letter after a vote of no confidence in his leadership. He was ousted as leader of the Opposition and replaced by Mrs Butler-Turner.

And yet he was the winner in that long game. He, in turn, swept away that group as FNM candidates for the election that saw him become prime minister.

Is the stage different now, though? Then, the FNM were seen as the relief to the perceived corruption, incompetence and especially arrogance of the PLP government of the time.

Now? People feel in general no warmer towards Dr Minnis’ personality, it seems, and the feeling of wariness has set in among FNMs as the next election draws nearer on the horizon.

“They are not feeling us,” said Mr Miller yesterday as he quit, adding: “The party itself, losing support at an alarming rate, and on this current trajectory, is headed for a crushing defeat in 2022. It was said that I would be destroyed by the party, but the party itself, if it continues on its present path, is on the path of self-destruction.”

The path has been set by Dr Minnis. Mr Miller’s is not a lone voice in the FNM warning of such an election outcome, he’s just the one saying it aloud in Parliament.

Whether he stirs up old wounds from the last time Dr Minnis faced dissent – and a vote of no confidence – is one thing, what he does about it is another.

Last time, he did what he needed to do to shore up his support in the party and convince the public that he was the better alternative to the PLP.

Can he do the same again? Or will voices in the party suggest another horse might need to run this race? One thing is for certain – winning over his own party will be the easy task. Winning over the people will be an altogether greater challenge.

No room at the church

Across the country in the past couple of weeks, the Christmas story has been told – to school halls and church audiences.

Parents and congregations, family and friends have followed the story of Mary and Joseph headed for Bethlehem, only to find, of course, no room at the inn.

A different group of people are seemingly being told there will be no room this Christmas. Refugees from Hurricane Dorian are already being told that the remaining shelters are to be closed by the end of the year.

And now Minister of Immigration Elsworth Johnson has said churches are not allowed to take in refugees if they don’t have shelters sanctioned by government agencies. Those would be the same agencies closing the shelters down.

Mr Johnson is worried that churches – and any other facility setting up a shelter – might harbour undocumented migrants. We can well imagine he doesn’t want to see pictures of immigration officers raiding a church over the Christmas season.

He also talks about the need for facilities to be adequate for those seeking shelter – which is a fair point, and one which many churches meet considering so many of them are already hurricane shelters.

So with the existing shelters closing, and no room at the church, where will people go?

At this stage, a stable is looking a lot better prospect than many of these evacuees will be facing.

Don’t let these victims of nature become victims of inhumanity. Find a solution, or stop pretending to be Christian.