Rymer Accused of Orchestrating Mather Switch
Talk show host Claude Skelton Cline has alleged that Works Minister Kye Rymer was the driving force behind At-Large Representative Stacy Mather’s recent move to the government side, with Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley closing the deal. Skelton Cline said the crossover was driven by political survival and aimed to unseat Walwyn as Leader of the Opposition ahead of impending constitutional negotiations.
Talk show host Claude Skelton Cline has claimed that Minister for Communications and Works Kye Rymer was instrumental in bringing At-Large Representative Stacy Mather to the government side, saying Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley later “closed the deal.” The comments were made on Skelton Cline’s Honestly Speaking radio programme and are based, he said, on information from sources close to the political developments.
Skelton Cline told listeners that the member for the Fifth District — he said — was the architect of Mather’s crossover while the Premier handled the final arrangements, describing the two as working together. He characterised Mather’s decision as one born of “political survival,” saying the move was intended to improve Mather’s re-election prospects by aligning him with the VIP.
A central claim in Skelton Cline’s commentary was that the broader objective of Mather’s defection was to remove Walwyn as Leader of the Opposition. He said sources confirmed this aim and suggested Opposition members missed an opportunity to act earlier. “The goal, as I understand it, is to unseat the current Leader of the Opposition because he does not see eye to eye and therefore cannot walk hand in hand with the government, specifically on this constitutional review and negotiations that are impending,” Skelton Cline said on air.
Skelton Cline argued that if the objective truly was to change Opposition leadership, a different sequence should have been followed. He suggested Mather ought to have approached “Penn and Skelton” to sign a new letter empowering a new Opposition leader and taken that to the Governor before crossing the floor.
He said it is unclear why that approach was not pursued. The commentator also singled out remaining Opposition members, notably Second District Representative Melvin Turnbull, as holding the keys to any change in leadership, saying Turnbull could potentially join with members of the NDP to move against Walwyn.
These assertions come from a media commentator citing unnamed sources and have not been independently confirmed. It is not clear from Skelton Cline’s remarks whether Kye Rymer, Stacy Mather, Premier Wheatley or other named figures have publicly responded to the allegations. The claims touch on issues that matter to BVI residents, including party alignments ahead of constitutional review talks and how parliamentary shifts could affect local governance and negotiations.
Primary source: BVI News