section_path: 1970s and early 1980s: new challenges/Heads of Agreement and decline
section_name: Heads of Agreement and decline
paragraph_text: Heads of Agreement and decline
  
  On January 30, 1981, Premier Price presented to the house a paper with suggestions for the new constitution to come into effect on the eve of independence, which the United Nations maintained had to be no later than the end of 1981 when it supported Belize in a resolution at its 1980 meeting. On March 11, Price, Assad Shoman and other Belizean negotiators returned with a series of proposals they called the " Heads of Agreement ", though nothing had actually been agreed on. The sixteen clauses called for Belize to make tough choices in order for the claim to be dropped, but Belizeans rebelled and set the country afire, forcing a state of emergency. It was under this state of emergency that Belize gained independence on September 21, 1981, a hollow victory that came at the price of losing Belizeans' trust. The PUP, hanging on for three more years despite economic losses and general discontent, finally called a general election for December 1984, and lost, 21–7, to the UDP. In many ways, it was the end of an era.