1986 Barbados Election Analysis

10/05/2025 16 min
1986 Barbados Election Analysis

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Episode Synopsis

The 1986 Barbadian General Election was a watershed event, resulting in a decisive landslide victory for the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) led by Errol Barrow, ending a decade of Barbados Labour Party (BLP) rule. The outcome was driven by a confluence of factors, including a challenging economic climate marked by high unemployment, the strong appeal of Errol Barrow and the DLP's platform, and voter dissatisfaction with the incumbent BLP administration. The election underscored the resilience of the two-party system in Barbados despite the dramatic shift in political power.