People's Action Movement

People's Action Movement
People's Action Movement
Abbreviation	PAM
Leader	Shawn Richards
Chairperson	Azard Gumbs
Founder	William Valentine Herbert
Founded	19 January 1965
Ideology	Conservatism; Republicanism
Political position	Centre-right
National affiliation	One Movement (since 2022); Team Unity (2015–2022)
Regional affiliation	Caribbean Democrat Union
International affiliation	International Democrat Union
National Assembly	1 / 11
Website
	https://pamskn.org/
	Politics of Saint Kitts and Nevis; Political parties; Elections;

The People's Action Movement (PAM) is a political party in the island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds one of the 11 seats in the National Assembly. PAM operates only in Saint Kitts and for the 2022 general election is in a 'One Movement' alliance with the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) operating in Nevis, following the breakdown of the governing Team Unity alliance. PAM is a member of the Caribbean Democrat Union, the regional affiliate of the International Democrat Union and shares close links with other centre-right party members in the Caribbean such as the Jamaica Labour Party.^[2]

History

The party first contested national elections in 1966, when they received 35% of the vote and won two seats.^[3] Their electoral share was reduced to a single seat in the 1971 elections, but they regained a second seat in 1975. In the 1980 elections they won three seats, and were able to form a coalition government with the Nevis Reformation Party to oust the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) from power for the first time since 1952. PAM leader Kennedy Simmonds led the country to independence in 1983, and the party won six of the eleven seats in the 1984 elections to remain in power. They again won six seats in 1989. The 1993 elections saw PAM and the SKNLP win four seats each.

Constance V. Mitcham, the first women to sit in the national assembly, was elected as a PAM candidate in 1984 and served until 1995.^[4]^[5]

The PAM remained in power, but early elections were held in 1995, which saw the PAM reduced to just one seat (with Simmonds losing his). They lost their single seat in the 2000 elections, but regained it in 2004, with Shawn Richards winning constituency no. 5. In the 2010 elections the PAM won two seats.

Lindsay Grant served as Leader of the PAM until his resignation in July 2012.^[6] After Grant's resignation, Shawn K. Richards and Eugene A. Hamilton contested for the party leadership in 2012; Richards came out the victor and became the fourth leader of the PAM and Hamilton became the deputy leader.

Team Unity

Prior to the 2015 general elections, the People's Action Movement formed a political alliance, known as Team Unity, with the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) from sister island Nevis and the newly formed People's Labour Party, which was led by former SKNLP members Timothy Harris and Sam Condor.

Election results

Election year	Party leader	# of votes	% of vote	# of overall seats won	+/–	Outcome
1966	William Valentine Herbert	4,936	35.0 (#2)	2 / 10	2	Official Opposition
1971		5,397	37.0 (#2)	1 / 9	1	Official Opposition
1975		2,859	23.4 (#2)	2 / 9	1	Official Opposition
1980	Kennedy Simmonds	4,990	33.9 (#2)	3 / 9	1	Coalition – Majority
1984		8,596	47.6 (#1)	6 / 11	3	Coalition – Majority
1989		8,090	45.4 (#1)	6 / 11		Coalition – Majority
1993		6,449	33.6 (#2)	4 / 11	2	Coalition – Minority
1995		7,530	34.7 (#2)	1 / 11	3	Opposition
2000		6,462	29.6 (#2)	0 / 11	1	No representation
2004	Lindsay Grant	7,161	31.7 (#2)	1 / 11	1	Opposition
2010	Lindsay Grant	8,393	32.2 (#2)	2 / 11	1	Official Opposition
2015	Shawn Richards	8,452	27.9 (#2)	4 / 11	2	Coalition
2020		8,067	28.91 (#2)	4 / 11		Coalition (2020−22)
2020		8,067	28.91 (#2)	4 / 11		Opposition (2022)
2022		4,737	16.13 (#3)	1 / 11	3	Opposition