Penn: I was offered Deputy Premier role after 2023 elections
Leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Marlon Penn, claimed that he was offered the post of Deputy Premier following the 2023 general elections but declined it ‘in the interest of the people’.
2025-03-27 20:05:07 - VI News Staff
Penn revealed this during an interview on JTV with Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) Leader Ronnie Skelton. According to Penn, he prioritised unity and service to the territory over political power.
“I could have been in a leadership position since [2023]. I was offered the Deputy Premier then, in 2023 after the elections, before Honourable Lorna Smith was offered. I was offered the Deputy Premier position then. Before she was fired, I was offered it then, and again and again,” Penn stated.
He added, “My focus is the people of this country and doing what is best for the people, not to empower myself.”
His comments followed questions about opposition members joining the government. Immediately after the elections, Smith, who ran as an independent and won, crossed the floor to form a coalition government with the Virgin Islands Party (VIP), causing a power shift. The move was widely viewed as pivotal to the VIP maintaining its hold in the government.
During the interview, Skelton also confirmed that Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley had approached him “several times” to join the government.
“The Premier of the country is trying to do what he thinks is good and right for himself, the country, and his political path… He needs help. He needs lots of help because the country is facing some difficult, difficult things,” Skelton stated.