Opposition Senator Quinn-Williams Says 2026 Budget ‘Disconnected from Reality’, Should Be Thrown in the Trash

Opposition Senator Pearl Quinn-Williams has launched a sharp attack on the government’s 2026 Budget, arguing that its headline figures mask deep financial and social challenges confronting ordinary Antiguans and Barbudans.

Speaking during the Senate debate on the Budget, Quinn-Williams rejected the administration’s claim of a $254.9 million primary surplus and a $116.3 million overall surplus, describing the figures as accounting manoeuvres rather than evidence of sound fiscal management.

“There is no surplus,” she told the Senate, aligning her position with St Philip’s South MP Sherfield Bowen. According to her analysis, government revenue of $1.4 billion against expenditure of $1.8 billion — even after accounting for $138 million in interest — results in a deficit of approximately $216 million.

The senator questioned why the government would seek to borrow as much as $1.6 billion if the country’s finances were truly in surplus, and raised concerns about the state’s ability to meet its obligations, including payments to suppliers, landlords, and outstanding back pay owed to public servants.

She also challenged claims that the national debt has been reduced, arguing that improvements in debt-to-GDP ratios were largely driven by economic growth rather than a genuine reduction in borrowing. Quinn-Williams noted that Antigua and Barbuda’s debt stock has increased from $2.389 billion in 2014 to about $4 billion today.

“That is a trick,” she said, accusing the government of focusing on percentages instead of the actual size of the debt.

Turning to social policy, Quinn-Williams criticised what she described as cuts or changes that disproportionately affect vulnerable groups. She pointed to adjustments to the National School Meals Programme, the reduction of school uniform allocations from two to one, and revisions to the utility subsidy programme, which now limits support to one beneficiary per household instead of one per pensioner.

The senator also took issue with the government’s handling of a CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) agreement suspending the Common External Tariff on essential food items.