'Bunchie': Anegada, VG Need Representation
Longtime Anegada resident and podcaster Mr Kirton-Wheatley — known locally as "Bunchie" — has called for separate representation for Virgin Gorda and Anegada and confirmed he will not contest the Ninth District seat in the 2027 general election. His intervention comes as the Constitutional Review process considers adding two at-large seats to the House of Assembly, a move some residents say should instead create a district seat for Anegada.
Mr Kirton-Wheatley, a longtime resident of Anegada who hosts a podcast focusing on issues affecting the Virgin Islands, used a Facebook post on Friday, May 29, 2026, to urge separate representation for Virgin Gorda (VG) and Anegada in the House of Assembly (HoA). "I’m being asked a lot every day if I’m running for the 9th, so I wanna clear the air.
I believe VG should have a representative from VG, and Anegada should have a representative from Anegada," he wrote, adding that he does not intend to run for the Ninth District seat in the 2027 general elections. Kirton-Wheatley argued that sharing the Ninth District places an unfair burden on Virgin Gorda, which he said is already the largest district by population and deserves its own access to limited public resources.
He also noted that without Virgin Gorda, Anegada would be the largest district by land area and should have a representative who lives on the island. The intervention comes amid constitutional negotiations sparked by the Lisa E. Penn-Lettsome Constitutional Review Commission and recent discussions by the Committee of Elected Members.
The committee has supported increasing the number of Ministers of Government and agreed this should be achieved by first increasing elected membership in the HoA. Members expressly backed adding two at-large seats by direct constitutional amendment rather than through an electoral boundary review.
If enacted and commenced in time, the additional seats would be contested in the next general election and raise elected membership from 13 to 15. Many residents who engaged with the constitutional review argued one of those additional seats should instead be a district seat — effectively giving Anegada its own dedicated representative.
For more than three decades some Anegada residents have voiced frustration at feeling neglected and separate from the other islands. Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) addressed the issue on Thursday, May 28, 2026, during a public engagement at the Jost van Dyke Methodist Church.
The Premier suggested District Councils could be a better fit for small, remote islands like Anegada and Jost van Dyke to address local needs and reduce feelings of neglect. As constitutional amendments are debated, residents of the Sister Islands will be watching closely to see whether change comes through new at-large seats, a re-drawn district map, or strengthened local governance via District Councils.
Any shift in representation will affect how limited resources are allocated and how remote communities access government services.
Primary source: VINO