Owen Arthur just did not want to sit on the same side as the Bees.
That was the view of consultant to Parliament and attorney at law Richard Byer as he sought to explain why a seating position was created on the Government’s front bench for the former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader on Tuesday, who resigned two weeks ago from the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which he led for two decades.
Byer told the DAILY NATION yesterday that Arthur’s seat selection was also a courtesy extended to him as a former head of Government.
“What I believed happened was a courtesy in allowing Mr Arthur to sit on the front bench with the Government,” he explained. “Because somewhere I believe he (Arthur) did not want to sit with the Opposition because that would betray his independence. People would still think that he is a member of the Barbados Labour Party, and he does not want to convey that impression.”
He added that despite being an Independent member and not being bound to any party’s philosophy, Arthur might still follow the ideology of his former party, “but that does not in anyway betray or speak to his independence as a member of Parliament”.
