BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Prime Minister Mia Mottley has confirmed she will lead the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) into the next general election, reversing her earlier decision to step down after this term.
Speaking Saturday night at a BLP rally celebrating the party’s by-election win in St James North, the 59-year-old leader told supporters that while she had initially planned for this term to be her last, the pressing national and global challenges—and appeals from citizens—had led her to reconsider.
“In 2022, I told you that that would be my last time. I did so because I had just gone through… six or seven months of true stress,” Mottley said, referencing the personal toll following the death of her brother. “I came to understand that true leadership is never about comfort. It is about calling, it is about timing, and it is about service.”
She noted that over the past year, and particularly in recent weeks, she had been urged by colleagues, civil society, private sector leaders, the labour movement, and citizens across Barbados to remain at the helm.
Citing ongoing global instability—including conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, tensions in the Indo-Pacific, and the worsening climate crisis—Mottley said Barbados needed steady leadership through uncertain times.
“And if you add to that an Opposition that resembles more of a pressure group than a political party of 70 years, this country of ours deserves stability and steadiness,” she said, taking aim at the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).
Mottley also underscored that the BLP government remains in the midst of a national transformation that began in 2018. Much of the first half of her current term, which began after a snap election in 2022, was still focused on managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is no doubt that the water is still choppy,” she told the crowd. “I came to the conclusion a few weeks ago that this is no longer a personal decision, but it is a decision of duty.”
Pledging to continue her work on behalf of Barbadians, Mottley said her team of ministers was better prepared than ever to deliver the transformation the country needs.
“I believe that this team that I have has so matured,” she said. “And for me to do anything that would cause this country not to fully benefit from the maturity of this team that I am proud to lead, would be a travesty.”
Mia Mottley, who made history in 2018 as Barbados’ first female prime minister, led the BLP to a second consecutive 30-0 landslide in 2022. She was being touted as a top contender for the United Nations Secretary-General position, with selection due in 2026.
She closed her address with a firm message to her supporters: “I will stay with you. I will stand with you.”
The next general election is constitutionally due by 2027.
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