The United Alliance has named its second candidate for Montserrat’s 2024 general election as political newcomer John Osborne Junior.
He is joining party leader Reuben T Meade, a former premier and two-time chief minister, in campaigning for roles in public office.
During a press conference on 8 February, the gas station owner said he chose to join the race because he has a “vision for a more prosperous Montserrat”.
“A Montserrat where people no longer live paycheque to paycheque, a vision of a Montserrat where people no longer work their entire lives just to pay a mortgage and retire.
“A vision of a Montserrat where our children no longer see roadblocks to their success and believe in themselves enough to explore their talents and creative abilities.”
He said he hoped to see an island where words like ‘investment, passive income, generational wealth’ become part of its culture.
“A more sustainable Montserrat, not just for foreign direct investment, but for investment in our own.”
Trade barriers
During the live radio press conference, Osborne said that as a young member of the party, he brings a new level of creativity and political ingenuity to the political landscape.
He spoke of an idea he had to reduce the trade barriers between Montserrat and England which, if he is elected, he plans to implement very quickly.
Following some research, he said, he discovered that most imports come through the United States. He estimated the cost of imports being about EC$100 million a year.
“Although the United Kingdom is our funding agent, we send the majority of our money back into somebody else’s economy to purchase goods,” Osborne said.
He suggested that there should be no import duty on UK goods, which will increase imports, and help to put money back into the UK economy.
They may then be inclined to pay for the shortfall in duty, he said, adding: “I don’t think they would have an issue with that.”
He said the empty containers could then be used to export local goods, as well as those from other British overseas territories in the Caribbean, back to the UK.
This would help Montserrat to generate money through the port to offset expenses, he said.
And it would then encourage the UK government to negotiate better deals for future capital projects, Osborne added.
‘Big shoes to fill’
When he was in his teens, Osborne had been one of the first members of Montserrat’s youth parliament.
His father, John Osborne, a former chief minister, had told him at the time that Meade should be his mentor.
The now leader of the United Alliance went on to encourage him to join the political arena.
Osborne said he has some “very big shoes to fill” and feared when he was younger that he would not be able to match up to his father.
When his father was dying, he told his son that he needed to remember he carried his name and with that came a certain level of responsibility.
“Before he died. He did tell me, he said, ‘I understand you. I know that if you go into politics, you’re going to try to outdo me’,” Osborne said.
“’But please don’t feel bad if you don’t, because I will be happy as long as you do your best.’”
A vision
Osborne said the United Alliance’s mission statement is to create and implement a strategy and roadmap for the sustainable development of Montserrat.
This will allow people have the opportunity to live wholesome, productive lives based on principles of universal love, respect, empathy, equity, self-reliance, and creativity, he said.
Osborne said his vision is “very much aligned” with what the party wants to do, and added that the United Alliance is very positive.
The electoral candidate said former governments have been strong administratively but lacking in policies so he plans, if elected, to be “very heavy on policy”.
While he has no formal background in politics, he said he is happy to be under experienced leadership and has an appetite to learn.
Osborne said his brother David Osborne, who is in the official opposition, is aware of his party choice and has given his full support.
Personal platform
On the topic of a lack of staff and resources in education, Osborne said he would use technology to fix a lot of issues.
When he was asked about mass migration, he said this is down to the cost of living and lack of access to education, which he spoke on earlier.
When speaking of sports tourism, he said his party has a lot of ideas on the table – including building a good facility for drag racing which he is personally involved in.
If elected into government, the United Alliance will support sports more and get them up to the standard they need to be, Osborne added.
This will feed into sports tourism which will increase the dynamic population of the island, he said.
In response to questions from the media, he also spoke of a regional ferry service, which could transport goods as well as people, as something that his party will likely work on.
On the topic of independence, the political candidate said the first thing to be addressed is the constitution to bring back some autonomy to elected members.
And when asked about encouraging private investors to the island, he said: “One plus that I see in Montserrat – labour in one side is actually cheap.”
Another topic he spoke on was access to the island. He suggested the airport is not at maximum capacity and that Twin Otter planes could help to enable access to more hubs.
