Jamaica Labour Party come out on top in the first ballot, with Shearer and Robert Lightbourne being the other candidates. Under Shearer, the JLP lost power for the first time to the People's National Party and Michael Manley in 1972. Shearer served as Opposition Leader until 1974. Bustamante finally gave up the post of party leader in 1974, and Edward Seaga was elected his successor. The party lost the 1976 elections, but Seaga became Prime Minister after victory in 1980 when the party won by a landslide, capturing 51 of the then 60 parliamentary seats. In 1983 with the JLP achieving a spike
Jamaica Labour Party Jamaica Labour Party The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name suggests that it is a social democratic party, the JLP is actually a conservative party. However, it has longstanding ties to the Jamaican labour movement. It is the current governing party, having won 32 of the 63 parliamentary seats in the lower house of parliament (House of Representatives) in the 2016 general elections. The JLP gained another seat in the November 2017 St Mary South East By-Election, increasing its majority to