Nevis Local Council

The Nevis Local Council was the local government for the island of Nevis within the Associated State of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla from 1967 until 1983.

History

1967 – 1971

In 1967, the Saint Christopher-Anguilla-Nevis legislature passed legislation that granted Anguilla and Nevis their own local councils.[1][2][3] The Nevis Local Council was given some revenue raising powers around certain taxes, licence fees and rates (although this required approval from central government), while according to Urias Forbes writing in the Caribbean Studies journal, the council's powers created "either a duty or a discretion to regulate and control, or to maintain and, to a more limited extent, to establish a variety of public utilities and services connected with environmental sanitation, water, vehicular traffic, roadway maintenance, fire protection and recreational facilities.”[3]

In April 1967, the council was inaugurated with nominated members, with the council’s first election taking place in December 1967.[4] The election saw the People’s Action Movement (PAM) win five of six available elected seats, while the United National Movement won one seat, with the three remaining seats being appointed.[2][5] While elected members held office until the next election, with elections being held every four years, nominated members held office for two years.[3]

1971 onwards

In November 1971, the council was reformed through the 1971 Local Government (Amendment) Act, which saw the three nominated seats being abolished in favour of all nine seats being elected.[6] In the 1971 election held in December, the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) won six of nine seats and Simeon Daniel, leader of the NRP, went on to serve as Chairman of the Local Council, succeeding Fred Parris to the position.[2][7][8][9] The NRP had campaigned on a platform of Nevisian independence from Saint Kitts.[10][11] In March 1974, the Nevis Local Council voted to pass a resolution calling for Nevisian independence from Saint Kitts.[2][12]

In the 1975 election, the NRP won all nine seats unopposed.[13] In 1976, the Nevis Local Council declared “be it resolved that the people of Nevis through the Nevis Local Council call upon the Central Government of the State to introduce the necessary Legislation in order to give to the island of Nevis its own Legislative Council as expressed by the people of Nevis at the recent elections”[2] and later that year the NRP again entered talks with the central government seeking independence, with the NRP later unilaterally holding a referendum on independence in 1977.[2][14] The referendum result in favour of independence was rejected by the central government.[2] In the 1979 election, the council remained in control of the NRP, who again won all nine seats and defeated the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party.[15][13]

Abolishment

In September 1983, following Saint Kitts and Nevis becoming independent from the United Kingdom, the constitution of the newly formed federation of the two islands granted Nevis its own legislature, the Nevis Island Assembly, with the Nevis Local Council being replaced by this new Assembly.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ "Nevis Island Council elections Dec. 15" (PDF). The Democrat. 2 December 1967. Retrieved 31 January 2026 – via axalibrary.ai.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Midgett, Douglas (1 January 2004). "Pepper and bones: the secessionist impulse in Nevis". New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via brill.com.
  3. ^ a b c Urias Forbes (July 1971). "The Nevis Local Council: A Case of Formalism in Structural Change". Caribbean Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2. Institute of Caribbean Studies, UPR, Rio Piedras Campus. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via JSTOR.
  4. ^ "Nevis And Anguilla (Local Elections)". UK Parliament. 2 May 1967. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  5. ^ "Nevis Opposition Gains". The Kansas City Times. Associated Press. 18 December 1967. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Fully elected Council for Nevis". The Democrat. 4 December 1971.
  7. ^ Dictionary of Contemporary Politics. Routledge. 2016. ISBN 1138195669.
  8. ^ "Nevis Council Sworn In". The Democrat. January 1972.
  9. ^ "Nevis Reformation Party wins 6 seats". St Croix Avis. 18 December 1971. Retrieved 19 February 2026 – via Digital Library of the Caribbean.
  10. ^ "A little island that's full of pride". San Francisco Chronicle. 13 December 1971. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Nevis Reformation Party wins 6 seats". St Croix Avis. 18 December 1971. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via Digital Library of the Caribbean.
  12. ^ "Little Anguilla Wilson's burden". The State. 22 July 1974. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b "From the supervisor of elections". Saint Kitts and Nevis Observer. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Now Bradshaw faces secession issue from tiny Nevis". New York Amsterdam News. 15 October 1977. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Nevis Reformation Party wins 9 seats". Star (Roseau, Dominica). 7 December 1979. Retrieved 24 January 2026 – via Digital Library of the Caribbean.
  16. ^ "Constitution of Saint Kitts and Nevis" (PDF). Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  17. ^ "TRANSFER OF POWERS AND FUNCTIONS (LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1967) ORDINANCE" (PDF). Law Commission of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
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