London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 30, 2025

HoA sitting scheduled for Friday, December 4, 2020

Just over a week after legislators were in the House of Assembly (HoA) doing the business of the people, they will return to the HoA for the Fourth Sitting of the Third Session of the Fourth House of Assembly on Friday, December 4, 2020.

This time it will be held in honour of the 70th anniversary of the restoration of the legislature in the Virgin Islands.

The sitting will be held from 10:00am at the Save the Seed Energy Centre in Duff’s Bottom, Tortola, according to a press notice from the Office of the House of Assembly today, December 2, 2020.

On Friday, each Member of the Fourth House of Assembly will be allowed an opportunity to lend their views towards this great occasion and will add on record to this celebration of Virgin Islands history, according to a press release from Government Information Services today.

History of VI legislature


The history of Legislatures in the [British] Virgin Islands, according to the press release, can be roughly divided into two: colonial Legislatures in the 18th and 19th centuries, followed by a hiatus, then the modern Legislature after the re-introduction of democracy on November 20, 1950.

The Civic League had previously made representation for a legislative council as early as 1938 and Mr Howard R. Penn moved a resolution at the closer union conference in 1947 for the restoration of the Legislative Council in the Virgin Islands.

In 1949, after a major demonstration led by pioneer Legislators such as Mr Theodolph Faulkner, Mr Isaac “Glannie” Fonseaca and Mr Carlton deCastro, it was realised that the wish of the Virgin Islands people was to have a representative Government that could be changed from time to time and it would better suit the needs of the community.

Previous legislature was not representative of VI people- Hon Julian Willock


Speaker of the House of Assembly, Honourable Julian Willock said, “While it is true that a Legislature did exist for the [British] Virgin Islands up to 1902, it was not representative of the Virgin Islands people.”

“Because of this, we rightly refer to the year 1950 as the beginning of our legislative history and I am happy to be a part of such a significant milestone in our young democracy,” he concluded.

Twenty years ago Premier and Leader of Government’s business Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) had an opportunity to contribute as an Honourable Member on the 50th anniversary. He wrote, “Democracy is based on the notion that a people should be self-governing. As John Stuart Mill wrote in 1862, in a representative democracy the Legislature acts as the eyes, ears, and voice of the people, the restoration of our Legislature was therefore inevitable. We should applaud the efforts of those pioneer Legislators, some of whom were not afraid to stand up and demonstrate for the re-establishment of our Legislature and all of whom worked tirelessly to effect changes and pave the way for our modern-day Legislative system.”

Tune in


Members of the HoA last met on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, where, among other things, the bill entitled, ‘COVID-19 Control and Suppression (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2020’ was debated and passed ahead of the reopening of the borders for international visitors.

Persons looking to catch coverage of the HoA sitting can listen on CBN Radio 90.9 FM, watch on CBN-Television Channel 101 on Flow TV and proceedings can also be viewed on the HoA YouTube channel and online at www.cbnvirginislands.com.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
×