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
Jamaica United Front Jamaica United Front The Jamaica United Front was a political party in Jamaica. It was a right wing small party and was first noticed when in 1980 it proposed a national unity government of the Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party. They were involved in an attempted coup on June 23, 1980. The leader, Charles Johnson, had been a member of the United States Army, serving in Vietnam and was running a security company in Kingston. The coup was seen by the left as a plot by the CIA and by the Jamaican Labour Party (which had not