Republicanism in Jamaica required for independence, the popularity of the Royal Family amongst Jamaicans, and tendencies towards Anglophilia among the political elites. The first Jamaican prime minister to make steps towards a republic was Michael Manley, whose People's National Party (PNP) came to power at the 1972 general election. His government established a commission into constitutional reform in 1975, and in July 1977, following a march to commemorate the Morant Bay rebellion, Manley announced that Jamaica would become a republic by 1981. However, his government was defeated at the 1980 general election by the more conservative Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), led by Edward
Workers Party of Jamaica on the country by the International Monetary Fund and accepted by Manley. The 1980 elections resulted in a victory of the rightist Jamaica Labour Party. Manley's association with the communist WPJ may have contributed to his defeat. The WPJ youth organization, Young Communist League of WPJ, was a member of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. By 1992 the WPJ was defunct. Workers Party of Jamaica The Workers Party of Jamaica (WPJ) was a Marxist-Leninist political party in Jamaica. WPJ was founded on 17 December 1978, by Trevor Munroe, along with Elean Thomas and others. Munroe, a Rhodes scholar from