# People's Action Movement

The People's Action Movement (PAM) is a political party in the island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds one of the 11 seats in the National Assembly. PAM operates only in Saint Kitts and for the 2022 general election is in a 'One Movement' alliance with the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) operating in Nevis, following the breakdown of the governing Team Unity alliance. PAM is a member of the Caribbean Democrat Union, the regional affiliate of the International Democrat Union and shares close links with other centre-right party members in the Caribbean such as the Jamaica Labour Party.

## History

The party first contested national elections in 1966, when they received 35% of the vote and won two seats. Their electoral share was reduced to a single seat in the 1971 elections, but they regained a second seat in 1975. In the 1980 elections they won three seats, and were able to form a coalition government with the Nevis Reformation Party to oust the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) from power for the first time since 1952. PAM leader Kennedy Simmonds led the country to independence in 1983, and the party won six of the eleven seats in the 1984 elections to remain in power. They again won six seats in 1989. The 1993 elections saw PAM and the SKNLP win four seats each.
Constance V. Mitcham, the first women to sit in the national assembly, was elected as a PAM candidate in 1984 and served until 1995.
The PAM remained in power, but early elections were held in 1995, which saw the PAM reduced to just one seat (with Simmonds losing his). They lost their single seat in the 2000 elections, but regained it in 2004, with Shawn Richards winning constituency no. 5. In the 2010 elections the PAM won two seats.
Lindsay Grant served as Leader of the PAM until his resignation in July 2012. After Grant's resignation, Shawn K. Richards and Eugene A. Hamilton contested for the party leadership in 2012; Richards came out the victor and became the fourth leader of the PAM and Hamilton became the deputy leader.

## Team Unity

Prior to the 2015 general elections, the People's Action Movement formed a political alliance, known as Team Unity, with the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) from sister island Nevis and the newly formed People's Labour Party, which was led by former SKNLP members Timothy Harris and Sam Condor. The alliance ended in 2022.

## Leadership

* William Valentine Herbert, 1965-1975
* Kennedy Simmonds, 1975-2000
* Lindsay Grant, 2000-2012
* Shawn Richards, 2012-2024
* Natasha Grey-Brookes, 2024-

## Election results

| Election year | Party leader | # of votes | % of vote | # of overall seats won | +/– | Outcome |
| 1966 | William Valentine Herbert | 4,936 | 35.0 (#2) | 2 / 10 | 2 | Official Opposition |
| 1971 | William Valentine Herbert | 5,397 | 37.0 (#2) | 1 / 9 | 1 | Official Opposition |
| 1975 | William Valentine Herbert | 2,859 | 23.4 (#2) | 2 / 9 | 1 | Official Opposition |
| 1980 | Kennedy Simmonds | 4,990 | 33.9 (#2) | 3 / 9 | 1 | Coalition – Majority |
| 1984 | Kennedy Simmonds | 8,596 | 47.6 (#1) | 6 / 11 | 3 | Coalition – Majority |
| 1989 | Kennedy Simmonds | 8,090 | 45.4 (#1) | 6 / 11 | | Coalition – Majority |
| 1993 | Kennedy Simmonds | 6,449 | 33.6 (#2) | 4 / 11 | 2 | Coalition – Minority |
| 1995 | Kennedy Simmonds | 7,530 | 34.7 (#2) | 1 / 11 | 3 | Opposition |
| 2000 | Kennedy Simmonds | 6,462 | 29.6 (#2) | 0 / 11 | 1 | No representation |
| 2004 | Lindsay Grant | 7,161 | 31.7 (#2) | 1 / 11 | 1 | Opposition |
| 2010 | Lindsay Grant | 8,393 | 32.2 (#2) | 2 / 11 | 1 | Official Opposition |
| 2015 | Shawn Richards | 8,452 | 27.9 (#2) | 4 / 11 | 2 | Coalition |
| 2020 | Shawn Richards | 8,067 | 28.91 (#2) | 4 / 11 | | Coalition (2020−22) |
| 2020 | Shawn Richards | 8,067 | 28.91 (#2) | 4 / 11 | | Opposition (2022) |
| 2022 | Shawn Richards | 4,737 | 16.13 (#3) | 1 / 11 | 3 | Opposition |