Political commentator and legal counsel Jomo Thomas has outlined the specific factors he believes led to the Unity Labour Party’s (ULP) severe loss in the November 2025 general elections.
Speaking on the “Boom OMG in the morning” radio broadcast, Thomas pointed to a combination of failed leadership transitions, widespread mismanagement, and desperate electioneering as the primary causes of the party’s downfall.
A central reason for the ULP’s crushing defeat, according to Thomas, was a massive missed opportunity during the party’s 2022 convention. Instead of stepping aside to allow a new generation to take the reins, former Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves chose to retain power, claiming after prayerful consideration that it was “not the time for me to leave”.
Thomas argued that Gonsalves’s “intransigence,” coupled with the younger leaders’ refusal to challenge him, directly resulted in the widespread defeat of the party’s younger generation at the polls. Had Gonsalves stepped down and allowed younger figures to lead the party into the election, Thomas believes the ULP might still have lost, but could have salvaged several seats and remained in a stronger political position. Because they missed this critical opportunity for transition, they “lost as badly as they did in 2025”.
Beyond leadership stagnation, Thomas highlighted severe governance issues, specifically pointing to emerging instances of corruption that reflect the deep mismanagement characterizing the administration’s final years.
He heavily criticized the ULP’s campaign strategies as fiscally reckless, alleging that the government gave away millions of dollars “willy-nilly” in a transparent attempt to “buy the last election”. Thomas noted that these funds were irresponsibly diverted from money initially earmarked by the World Bank and the OPEC fund for a hospital project. Ultimately, this tactic of handing out unearned money to voters “didn’t work”.
Finally, Thomas emphasized that the election results—decided by a plurality of over 10,000 voters—served as a direct and undeniable “commentary” on Gonsalves, his ministers, and the ULP as a whole.
The electorate ultimately repudiated a politician who had dominated for 25 years, rejecting the dismal conditions he presided over. Thomas strongly condemned Gonsalves’s subsequent arrogance in labeling the voters’ democratic choice a “mistake,” noting that the ULP’s defeat was a clear rejection of their governing record.