And so while Barrow holds his ground, so does his equally stubborn party member, Patrick Faber. You heard him declare himself an unswerving UDP, while also distancing himself from Barrow's email.
So will Barrow still really write to the Speaker saying he has crossed the floor and that it should trigger a by-election? Well, it appears not, but Barrow can still challenge that he has violated the party's resolution to keep disputes internal.
The press asked him about all that today:
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"The irony of it, it is that same member, who when, a gentleman by the name of Cordona, he was the Orange Walk area rep for the UDP, the gentleman you're referring to wrote him a letter as the party chairman to tell him that he constructively resigned because while he did not vote against the party, he spoke against the party, so I just thought that that was ironic. But the party will deal with that matter internally."
Reporter:
"Did you call for a division on the vote to see where your party members stand on this matter?"
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"Well, I know where people stand so we called the division so people could stand where they stand."
Courtney Menzies:
"Do you believe though that Faber had crossed the floor or do you feel like you were being a bit hasty?"
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"I don't believe I was being hasty, you talk to five different lawyers, they give you five different opinions. What was done in the House Committee was, I won't say unprecedented because as I said, Cordona did the same thing. Interestingly enough when he did it, Mr Faber considered it constructively resigning and I believe they did write to the Speaker to say that he crossed the floor and the Speaker, I'm not sure the interpretation that the Speaker had but I think they moved his seat somewhere so it's a very ironic situation but as I said, the party will deal with it."
Reporter:
"How do you view the abstention of the other colleague, Tracy Panton, rather than an outright no as was the position of your deputy?"
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"We will discuss the matter internally."
