Former Minister Lennox Weston has launched a sharp attack on the United Progressive Party (UPP), accusing it of propping up a “figurehead” leader while a hidden group of intellectuals positions itself to take control of government if the party wins power.
Speaking at a recent Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) rally, Weston claimed the UPP’s current leadership strategy is designed to mislead voters by placing a visible but “unqualified” frontman at the helm, while more politically ambitious figures operate behind the scenes.
“They have deliberately elevated someone who they know cannot read, cannot reason, cannot stand on his feet,” Weston told supporters. “His proudest achievement is to collect dead dogs.”
Weston argued that these backroom players have no connection to the public and are avoiding electoral scrutiny by refusing to stand for office themselves.
“Why don’t they put their names on the ballot?” he asked. “They’re waiting for a fluke win, then they’ll jump up and run the country from the shadows.”
According to Weston, the plan is for this group—whom he described as the so-called “intelligentsia” of the UPP—to seize key positions without accountability, sidelining other members of the party and effectively hijacking the government.
He went on to criticise the qualifications and competence of opposition figures more broadly, claiming they are ill-equipped to manage the complexities of a modern government.
“You’re about to bring in an unelectable set of persons,” Weston warned. “You’re telling your children they must go to school and study, but then you’re prepared to elect someone who didn’t even take the time to learn to read.”
Weston’s comments were part of a wider defence of the ABLP’s record in government and a call to voters to resist what he described as dangerous attempts to undermine the country’s political stability and future.
“This isn’t about one man,” he said. “It’s about protecting the country from being run by people who are neither prepared nor qualified to lead.”
