A contentious dispute has emerged within Trinidad and Tobago’s Parliament regarding speaking privileges during the critical Finance Bill 2025 debate on December 5th. Opposition MP Stuart Young (Port of Spain North/St Ann’s West) publicly accused Government Business Leader Barry Padarath of preventing his participation in the parliamentary discussion.
Young took to social media to articulate his grievances, stating that despite prior notification to the United National Congress about the Opposition’s intention to field additional speakers, he was allegedly blocked from contributing. According to Young’s Facebook post, Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo was instructed to conclude the debate prematurely, thereby denying him the opportunity to represent his constituents and the broader citizenry.
The parliamentary procedure unfolded when MP Christian Birchwood (Laventille East Morvant) completed his remarks, prompting Minister Tancoo to signal his intention to wrap up the debate. Speaker Jagdeo Singh acknowledged this request and permitted the Finance Minister to proceed, a decision that immediately sparked objections from Opposition members.
Speaker Singh addressed the concerns by questioning whether any standing order explicitly prevented the Finance Minister from exercising his prerogative to conclude the debate. Young countered that parliamentary tradition typically allowed the next recognized member to speak based on catching the Speaker’s eye, and noted there had been prior inter-bench discussions regarding speaker allocations.
In response to these allegations, Government Business Leader Padarath dismissed Young’s claims as unfounded confusion. Padarath revealed to Newsday on December 6th that he wasn’t even present in the chamber when the contentious exchange occurred, having departed earlier to attend a function and returning only for the final vote.
Padarath emphasized that multiple Opposition members, including the Opposition Leader, had already contributed to the debate, asserting that there was no systematic attempt to silence any parliamentarian. He characterized Young’s complaints as semantic manipulation rather than substantive procedural violation.
The Finance Bill 2025 ultimately passed by simple majority shortly before 9 PM, marking the conclusion of a heated parliamentary session that has exposed underlying tensions in Trinidad and Tobago’s legislative process.