The VI Democratic Party (VIDP or DP) is a no
defunct

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

of the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Bri ...

. It was originally formed by Dr Q. William Osborne during the first session of the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands under the new constitution in 1967 subsequent to the general election on 14 April 1967. After the election Dr Osborne was the Territory's first leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council. The VI Democratic Party only once held power in the Territory. After the 1971 general election it formed a coalition government with independent candidate

Willard Wheatley Willard Wheatley MBE (16 July 1915 – 22 January 1997) was a British Virgin Islands educator and politician who served two consecutive terms as the Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands from 1971 to 1979. He was the second ever Chief Mi ...

, with Wheatley acting as

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

. However, disagreements arose between Wheatley and Osborne, and Wheatley ended up removing Osborne from his Ministerial post. For the 1975 general election Wheatley abandoned his former coalition partners and ran successfully with the United Party, and Osborne also abandoned the party to run for the

Virgin Islands Party The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. It is presently led by Acting Premier Natalio Wheatley. It is the oldest active political party in the British Virgin Islands, and it has won more general elect ...

. The last election in which the VI Democratic Party contested was the 1979 general election, when Dr Osborne ran as a sole candidate in the 5th District, but was defeated by

Cyril Romney Cyril Brandtford Romney (1 March 1931 – 19 July 2007) was a British Virgin Islander politician who served as Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands from 1983 to 1986. He also served as a member of the Legislative Council of the British V ...

Electoral results

Footnotes

Political parties in the British Virgin Islands Political parties established in 1967 1967 establishments in the British Virgin Islands {{caribbean-party-stub