In the 1970s and 1980s, Montserratian politics were dominated by Austin Bramble, leader of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), and John Osborne, head of the People's Liberation Movement (PLM). Bramble served as chief minister for eight years beginning in 1970. In November 1978, however, he was replaced by Osborne as the PLM captured all seven elective seats in the Legislative Council. Osborne's control of the chief minister's post was ratified on two subsequent occasions. The PLM won five seats in the February 1983 election and four in the August 1987 election. The latter ballot marked the first electoral effort of the National Democratic Party (NDP). The NDP, which was headed by Bertrand Osborne, won two seats on the Legislative Council.

Although personality issues appeared to dominate Montserratian politics, some policy distinctions among the parties could be identified. The PLM supported independence, a position rejected by both the PDP and the NDP. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the only party advocating independence was the United National Front, a small movement headed by George Irish, leader of the Montserrat Allied Workers Union. In 1984, however, John Osborne startled Montserratians by suddenly calling for independence. Osborne's proposal was rooted in his anger over the British veto of Montserrat's participation in the Caribbean Peace Force dispatched to Grenada. Although intervention in Grenada was popular with most citizens on Montserrat, independence was not. As a consequence, Osborne promised that no decision on independence would be made until a referendum was held.

The PLM, PDP, and NDP also differed on economic development strategies. In the early 1980s, the government unveiled a multimillion-dollar casino and hotel development plan for the northern side of the island. The plan was strongly criticized by the PLM's opponents, who argued unsuccessfully that the measure should be put to a referendum. The situation became quite complicated in 1984 when two different Miami-based development companies each claimed that they had been granted rights to the casino and hotel project. In a strange twist, Bramble and his brother were arrested by the Palm Beach, Florida, police on burglary charges, while allegedly seeking a videotaped deposition on the matter made by a government official. In mid-1987 the PDP and the NDP were accusing the government of mismanaging the development project and the overall economy.

Data as of November 1987

NOTE: The information regarding Montserrat on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Montserrat Political Dynamics information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Montserrat Political Dynamics should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.