Tufton backs embattled George Wright in Westmoreland Central showdown
Published:Tuesday | July 1, 2025 | 12:09 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Former deputy leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Dr Christopher Tufton says he is throwing his support behind George Wright, the incumbent member of parliament for Westmoreland Central, who, seemingly, is being targeted by the People’s National Party (PNP), which has been raising concerns about his suitability to run.
Wright was booted from the JLP after he was accused of beating a woman with a stool in an incident that generated much negative publicity. However, Wright, who was never charged in connection with the alleged incident, has since been reinstated by the JLP.
In calling for the voters in Westmoreland Central to “keep the right George and reject the wrong Vaz”, Tufton launched a scathing attack on the PNP during a JLP workers appreciation ceremony in Westmoreland on Sunday night, saying that the PNP had taken the parish for granted over decades of poor representation.
“The orange people are great pretenders. They take you for granted,” said Tufton. “They have taken the people of the parish of Westmoreland for granted. Since 1944, universal and adult suffrage, that’s when we as Jamaicans got the right to choose our leaders. Seventy-one years now, and they (PNP) have had 42 of those years to provide leadership for the parish.”
In endorsing Wright, Tufton urged residents to stand firmly behind what he has described as effective leadership.
“He is the right George, and the other man is the wrong Vaz,” said Tufton in reference to former MP Dwayne Vaz, the PNP’s candidate, who was unseated by Wright in 2020 and is now seeking a comeback in the upcoming general election.
“We here in this group must make sure we go out and tell the people in the community why it is important to keep George Wright.”
Tufton, who previously had political management for the parishes of St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, and St Elizabeth, painted the JLP as the party of progress and problem-solving while labelling the PNP as the party of missed opportunities and stagnation.
“The Labour Party is always called upon to rescue the day. What has happened since sugar declined? It is under this administration, where we have started to see other industries emerging,” said Tufton.
In April 2021, Wright came under intense public scrutiny after a video surfaced online showing a man violently assaulting a woman. While the man in the video was never officially identified, fingers were pointed at Wright, who was subsequently ditched by the JLP and who operated as an independent MP until his recent reinstatement.
During the time in which he was banished by the JLP, Wright maintained a strong presence in his constituency, often attending community events and even JLP functions unofficially.