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Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Antigua and Barbuda: Political Parties Material


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0101 PP.AQ

Held at: Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Title: Antigua and Barbuda: Political Parties Material

Date(s): 1960-

Level of description: Collection (Fonds)

Extent: 2 boxes

Name of creator(s): Institute of Commonwealth Studies

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Though Antigua and Barbuda had to wait until 1981 for full independence within the Commonwealth there had been a multi-party political system since the islands were given associated statehood status in 1967. Prior to this politics had been dominated by the Antigua Trades and Labour Union and its political offspring, the Antigua Labour Party, but a multi-party system now emerged with groups such as the Antigua People's Party and the Progressive Labour Movement splitting off from the ALP. Despite this the latter has only once been out of power, and with Lester Bird succeeding his father Vere Cornwall as prime minister there has also been a dynastic element to Antigua's governance. The effect that these two factors have had on Antigua's democracy and the various attempts to create a viable alternative party are the major themes of the materials in this collection.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Pamphlets, papers, manifestos and constitutions issued by the Antigua-Barbuda Democratic Movement, the Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement, the Antigua Labour Party, the Antigua People's Party, and the Progressive Labour Movement (Antigua).

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

Alphabetically by party, and then in rough chronological order.

Conditions governing access:

Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids:

Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)

Detailed catalogue

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.

Archival history:

The ICS political parties collection was begun in 1960-1961, with special emphasis being placed on primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos. Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.

Immediate source of acquisition:

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of originals:

Existence and location of copies:

Related material:

See also Antigua and Barbuda: Trades Unions Material (TU.AQ) and Antigua and Barbuda: Pressure Groups Material (PG.AQ), as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note:

The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk

Archivist's note: Description compiled by Daniel Millum, Political Archives Project Officer at the Institutes of Commonwealth and Latin American Studies.

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: Created 11/02/2004 AIM25


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Parliamentary elections | Elections | Electoral systems | Internal politics
Political parties | Internal politics
Politics | Political science

Personal names

Corporate names
Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement
Antigua People's Party
Antigua-Barbuda Democratic Movement
Progressive Labour Movement (Antigua)

Places
Antigua and Barbuda | Caribbean