Post-election OBA HQ was “a very different room” to 2020, says leader Jarion Richardson
“Incredibly Energised”. “Excited for the next five years”. These are not phrases you expect to hear from a politician whose party was just beaten at the polls.
However, OBA Leader Jarion Richardson says their gains in this election show that the work they have done to rebuild the party since 2020 has been worthwhile.
“This has been a vindication of five years of incredible work”, he says.
He also told Gary Foster Skelton that he isn’t thinking about stepping down as OBA Leader, at least not at this time.
Mr Richardson said, “In my style of leadership… you’re not done until you’ve done your postmortem or your after action report.”
“Is that on your radar once the post mortem is done?”, Gary asked.
“I can’t see it on my radar”, Mr Richardson answered.
On whether he had been considering stepping down before the election was called, he said “I have had bad days and snuck out and smoked a cigarette… But I would hardly say that that qualifies as a decision being made.”
Reflecting on what he calls the “reformation project” of rebuilding the party after their crushing defeat in the 2020 election, Mr Richardson says he is humbled by the commitment of those who stayed the course.
“I will never abandon them… Even if I’m not the leader. Even if I’m not a member of Parliament”, he said.
“It was a very different room after the 2020 election to after the 2025 election. You would think there were different organizations.”
An extended interview with OBA Leader Jarion Richardson will be available soon.
