End the Speech from the Throne
Political commentator Claude O. Skelton-Cline has called for the Speech from the Throne to be discontinued, describing it as a vestige of colonial subjugation. Speaking on ZBVI 780 AM on June 10, 2026, he argued the House of Assembly should hear directly from elected leaders while retaining a State of the Territory address.
Skelton-Cline has urged the British Virgin Islands to discontinue the annual Speech from the Throne, calling it a colonial-era practice that no longer fits the territory’s democratic traditions. Speaking on his radio programme Honestly Speaking on ZBVI 780 AM on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Skelton-Cline questioned why a government-prepared legislative agenda must be delivered in the House of Assembly by the sitting governor. “All that colonisation stuff, we need to get away from,” he said. “It’s your agenda, the people we elect… Why do we keep doing things that make no sense?” The Speech from the Throne is a ceremonial address read by the governor in the House of Assembly that sets out the incoming government’s legislative priorities.
In the BVI and other British Overseas Territories the governor performs a range of ceremonial duties as the representative of the Crown, including this annual address. Skelton-Cline described the practice as a symbol and reminder of “subjugation,” and said some traditions inherited from colonial governance should be abandoned. “We should just cut out and be done with these things,” he added.
Skelton-Cline did not call for eliminating a public account of government plans altogether. He suggested the territory continue the State of the Territory Address — a format in which elected leaders present the state of affairs directly to the public — arguing this would better reflect local democratic accountability. “I think we need to continue in that tradition and continue to give the state of affairs of the country,” he said.
This year’s Speech from the Throne was delivered by Governor Daniel Pruce on January 13, 2026, under the theme ‘Legislative Pillars of Progress: Building a Sustainable Nation’. Skelton-Cline’s comments revive longstanding debates about ceremonial practices, local self-determination and how traditions inherited from the colonial era should evolve in the BVI.
His remarks are likely to prompt discussion among elected officials, civic groups and residents about how the territory balances respect for constitutional roles with desires for greater local visibility and voice in parliamentary rituals. Skelton-Cline presented his views as a matter of public sense and symbolism, urging a rethink of practices he says no longer serve the people of the Virgin Islands.
He made the comments on Honestly Speaking on ZBVI 780 AM on June 10, 2026.
Primary source: VINO