{"id":237302,"date":"2025-05-17T13:05:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T17:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=237302"},"modified":"2025-05-17T13:05:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T17:05:04","slug":"mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/","title":{"rendered":"MP Watts explains why he did not pay his rent"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MP Watts says he chose between keeping Branch office and helping needy constituents<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

St. George MP Algernon \u201cSerpent\u201d Watts says the decision to surrender the premises that housed his Branch office in Potters was financially prudent.<\/p>

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\u201cAs I had expected, this has become political fodder,\u201d Watts says. \u201cBut it was simply an expense that neither the Branch nor my constituency allowance of $2,000 a month could sustain any longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiven how the cost of living has eroded people\u2019s spending power \u2013 which, in turn, has increased demands on me for assistance \u2013 we had to let the building go. It is way more important at this time to be in the position to help my constituents survive,\u201d Watts explains.<\/p>

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\u201cLike families and small businesses all over this country, we had to prioritize. We couldn\u2019t allow the rent to run up to $12 million, like other folks do,\u201d the St. George representative says.<\/p>

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Other members of the Party\u2019s leadership note that commercial rental fees are very high, and this is why, outside the election campaign season, it is extremely challenging for Branches to sustain offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They add that the political spin from detractors was expected; but it will not distract the Party from the pressing national issues at hand \u2013 such as the poor roads, the shortage of water, and the use of taxpayers\u2019 money to pay private legal fees related to the Alfa Nero<\/em> challenges.<\/p>

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MP Watts says he chose between keeping Branch office and helping needy constituents St. George MP Algernon \u201cSerpent\u201d Watts says the decision to surrender the premises that housed his Branch office in Potters was financially prudent. \u201cAs I had expected, this has become political fodder,\u201d Watts says. \u201cBut it was simply an expense that neither […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":237159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMP Watts explains why he did not pay his rent - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MP Watts explains why he did not pay his rent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MP Watts says he chose between keeping Branch office and helping needy constituents St. George MP Algernon \u201cSerpent\u201d Watts says the decision to surrender the premises that housed his Branch office in Potters was financially prudent. \u201cAs I had expected, this has become political fodder,\u201d Watts says. \u201cBut it was simply an expense that neither […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-17T17:05:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-17T17:05:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ef1b8368-b6db-4a4d-bfc3-6f655dd55509.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"738\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"487\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"MP Watts explains why he did not pay his rent\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-17T17:05:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-17T17:05:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/\"},\"wordCount\":243,\"commentCount\":25,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:738\/h:487\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ef1b8368-b6db-4a4d-bfc3-6f655dd55509.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/mp-watts-explains-why-he-did-not-pay-his-rent\/\",\"name\":\"MP Watts explains why he did not pay his rent - 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