Bridgetown.
The appointment of Mia Amour Mottley as the the new Leader of the Opposition and Political Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) for the second time by her parliamentary colleagues yesterday is has created political history in Barbados.
Never before has someone been appointed to the position of Leader of the Opposition removed from the post and re-appointed to the post.
Mottley, 48, a former deputy prime minister in the BLP admistration led by Owen Arthur was first elected Leader of the Opposition in 2008, after the BLP was defeated by the Democratic Labour Party (DLP ) under the leadership of the late David Thompson, in the general election. Dale Marshall the Member of Parliament for St Joseph was elect her deputy.
Two years later in October, 2010, she was ousted from the post in what appeared to be a place coup by Arthur, at that time Mottley said she would remained committed to the BLP but accused it of engaging in a kangaroo court to remove her from the position of Leader of the Opposition. Arthur took up the post as Leader of the Oppostition with Marshall as his deputy.
On the day she was removed from the position of Opposition Leader, many of her supporters gathered out the BLP headquarters at Roebuck Street, Bridgetown, some of them openly shed tears, others loudly expressed their disgust at the way she was removed from the post.
There was a school of thought that Arthur had plotted Mottley dismissal from the post of Opposition Leader in a bid to regain power due to the illness of the then Prime Minister David Thompson, who died from pancreatic cancer on October 23, 2010.
Several political commentators, journalists, and callers to the various call-in radio programmes suggested that Arthur had anticipate a snap elections after the death of Thompson engineered Mottley downfall in a bid to regain power.
After Arthur took up the post of Leader of the Opposition the public perception was that the relationship between he and Mottley was strained. Despite several public statements by Arthur that he and Mottley had put the past behind and were part of a united BLP team.
Those statements never changed the public perception that all was not well between Arthur and Mottley. Two weeks ago at a political rally in Lammings, St Joseph, Arthur publicly thanked for his tremendous help during "the darkest days of the BLP".
This comment by Arthur caused public speculation that arift still remain between he and Mottley.
Yesterday Mottley was returned to the post by a majority vote of 8-5 by her parliamentary colleagues, Arthur who was noticably asbent from the four hour long meeting held at the BLP headquarters received the other 5 votes.
After it was announced by the MP for St George North Gline Clarke who was appointed secretary of the parliamentary group.
Mottley dismissed the rumours that there was still bad blood between she and her predeccessor.
"I want to place on record the party's gratitude for the 20 years of service Owen Arthur as the leader of Barbados Labour party. His record is unparalleled as leader of this party in terms of victory and in terms of development", Mottley said.
"We went through a campaign united and we have come out fully united, contrary to the rumours other put out there", she added.
She stated that Arthur had also indicated that he would be a full and vibrant member of the House of Assembly.
Mottley a leading attorney at law was first elected to the House of Assembly as the M.P for St Michael North in 1994. 
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