Jamaica Labour Party St Ann North East MP Marsha Smith resigns

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament for St Ann North East Marsha Smith resigned earlier today with immediate effect.

In a statement from the Office of the Price Minister, Prime Minister Andrew Holness thanked Marsha Smith, who is also the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and Youth, for her service in representational politics.

Smith was elected to represent the constituency in September 2020.

Smith defeated Keith Brown of the People’s National Party by 4,442 votes, polling 9,169 to her opponent’s 4,747 in the 2020 General Election.

Since then there has been at least two staged protests by constituents against any continuation of Smith as the party's standard-bearer. Constituents accused her of being an ineffective Member of Parliament.

The seat is expected to be represented in the next general election by Matthew Samuda, who currently serves as Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth & Job Creation, who was presented by Holness as the JLP's standard-bearer at an event in the constituency last year November.

“I am confident that Matthew Samuda will be a very good representative for all the people of North East St Ann,” he said to thunderous applause.