The politics of Barbados function within a framework of a parliamentary republic with strong democratic traditions; constitutional safeguards for nationals of Barbados include: freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.
Owen Seymour Arthur, PC was a Barbadian politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Barbados from 6 September 1994 to 15 January 2008. He is the longest-serving Barbadian prime minister to date. He also served as Leader of the Opposition from 1 August 1993 to 6 September 1994 and from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013.
The Barbados Labour Party (BLP), colloquially known as the "Bees", is a social democratic political party in Barbados established in 1938. Led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, it is the governing party of Barbados and the sole ruling party in the House of Assembly of Barbados, holding 30 out of 30 seats. The BLP was elected to government on 25 May 2018 after a decade in opposition, with Mottley becoming the country's first female prime minister. The party originally won all of the seats in the House of Assembly, but Bishop Joseph Atherley, the MP for St. Michael West, became an independent MP and the leader of the opposition on 2 June 2018. The party won all 30 seats in the 2022 general election.
The Democratic Labour Party (DLP), colloquially known as the "Dems", is a political party in Barbados, established in 1955. It was the ruling party from 15 January 2008 to 24 May 2018 but faced an electoral wipeout in the 2018 general election which left it with no MPs.
Dame Billie Antoinette Miller, DA, is a Barbadian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister. Miller is a member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP).
Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, KA, PC is a Barbadian politician. He served as the fourth prime minister of Barbados from 1987 to 1994. Later Sir Lloyd served as Barbados' first resident ambassador in Beijing, China from 2010 to 2013.
The House of Assembly of Barbados is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament (MPs), who are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple-majority system for a term of five years. The House of Assembly sits roughly 40–45 days a year and is presided over by a Speaker.
Dr. Hugh Gordon Hylvestra Cummins was a Barbadian politician. He served as Premier of Barbados from 17 April 1958 to 8 December 1961 and was a member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP).
General elections were held in Barbados on 15 January 2008. A concurrent referendum to determine whether or not to become a republic was initially planned but vote was postponed.
David John Howard Thompson QC was the sixth prime minister of Barbados from 15 January 2008 until his death from pancreatic cancer on 23 October 2010.
Mia Amor Mottley, is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as Prime Minister of Barbados since 2018 and as leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the eighth person to hold the office of Prime Minister in Barbados and the first woman to hold either position. She is also Barbados' first prime minister under its republican system, following constitutional changes she introduced which abolished the country's constitutional monarchy.
Freundel Jerome Stuart, OR, PC, QC is a Barbadian politician who served as seventh Prime Minister of Barbados and the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013; and from 21 February 2013 to 25 May 2018. He succeeded David Thompson, who had died in office on 23 October 2010 from pancreatic cancer.
Marie-Josephine Mara Thompson is a Saint Lucian-born Barbadian politician, educator and widow of the sixth Prime Minister of Barbados, David Thompson, who died in office on 23 October 2010. After being chosen as the most favored candidate. Thompson won the special by-election to succeed her husband in the Saint John constituency on Thursday, 20 January 2011, holding the seat for the Democratic Labour Party.
General elections were held in Barbados on 7 December 1956. The result was a victory for the Barbados Labour Party, which won 15 of the 24 seats. MPs were elected across twelve two-member constituencies, using the block vote method. Voter turnout was 60.3%.
Federal elections were held in the West Indies Federation for the first and only time on 25 March 1958. The result was a victory for the West Indies Federal Labour Party, which won 25 of the 45 seats in the House of Representatives.
General elections were held in Barbados on 24 May 2018. The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, resulting in BLP leader Mia Mottley becoming the country's first female Prime Minister. The BLP's victory was the first time a party had won every seat in the House of Assembly. Previously, the most one-sided result for a Barbadian election had been in 1999, when the BLP won 26 of the 28 seats. The BLP's 73.5 percent vote share was also the highest on record.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 21 March 2018 to elect members to House of Representatives of the 15th Antigua and Barbuda Parliament. Each of the 17 constituencies elected one Member of Parliament (MP).
A by-election was held in the Barbadian constituency of St George North on November 11, 2020 following the resignation of incumbent BLP Member of Parliament Gline Clarke, who has represented the constituency for the past 26 years, to accept the post of Barbados High Commissioner to Canada. It was the first election to take place since Prime Minister Mia Mottley's governing Barbados Labour Party won all seats in the House of Assembly in the 2018 Barbadian general election.
Joseph Junior Sylvester Atherley is a Barbadian religious minister and politician who served as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly of Barbados from 2018 to 2022, and as leader of the People's Party for Democracy and Development since 8 June 2019.
General elections were held in Barbados on 19 January 2022 to elect the 30 members of the House of Assembly. The ruling Barbados Labour Party won all 30 seats for the second consecutive election.
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