We still want Mama P - Portia Simpson Miller supporters want her to remain as MP

In light of the announcement that Portia Simpson Miller will not be seeking re-election as party leader for the People's National Party (PNP) at its annual conference next year, members of her St Andrew South Western constituency are making a plea to her to stay on as their Member of Parliament beyond her tenure as party leader.

David Moffatt, who described himself as the eldest son of Simpson Miller, said that while it saddens him to see her step away from the leadership of the party, he wants her to remain as his MP.

"Everybody in the community love her. So it hurt me fi she step away as party leader, but we definitely want her to be our MP same way," Moffatt said yesterday afternoon in the community of Majesty Gardens.

Tremendous work

Another constituent, Ranny Aloyisious, said that even though Simpson Miller's decision to step down as party leader might be a good thing for the party, the tremendous work she has done for the people in the constituency warrants her representing them for as long she wants.

"I think it's a very good decision for the strength of the party. But while she has made that decision, I need her to still be a MP for St Andrew South Western. I know she has done hard work in the past, welfare work, sports and everything, and I think she should be our MP for however long she wants," Aloyisious said.

Meanwhile, Pamela Brown believes that with the weight of being party leader off her shoulder, she will now be able to give the constituency more attention.

However a constituent, who asked for her identity to be withheld, said she hopes that Simpson Miller relinquishes her MP title as well. "At the end of the day mi live a Majesty Gardens, and right about now mi nuh see nothing a gwaan fi round here and yah so is her stronghold. Sorry Mama P, you fi give somebody else a try," she said.

Simpson Miller has been the MP for St Andrew South Western since 1976, except for the 1983 to 1989 term when then PNP leader, Michael Manley, refused to contest the 1983 election. In her ten-year tenure as leader of the PNP, she has lost four out of six elections, and she has been challenged as party leader twice.