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Lister named as Shadow Minister

PLP MP Dennis Lister

Veteran Progressive Labour Party MP Dennis Lister has dismissed reports that he intends to step down from the party and stand as an Independent.And the party today said he’d accepted the post of Shadow Minister for Quangos one of a list of Shadow Ministerial changes announced.On Tuesday, broadcaster VSB said the Sandys North Central MP was preparing to resign in the wake of his party’s General Election defeat last December.But last night Mr Lister described the speculation as nothing but rumour - and took a swipe at the news broadcaster for running an unsubstantiated story.Asked to confirm or deny the story, Mr Lister said: “The only thing I’m prepared to say is that you shouldn’t run a story based just on rumour.”Speculation that a rift has developed within the Opposition was fuelled by the resignation of party stalwart Terry Lister last week. Mr Lister - a close colleague and brother to Dennis Lister - lost out to Marc Bean in a head-to-head contest for the leadership immediately following the party’s defeat at the polls. He later said that he felt he was no longer wanted by the party, and commentators suggested that more resignations could follow as the party’s old guard gave way to a new generation of freshly elected MPs.Yesterday one source close to the party claimed rumours of Dennis Lister’s resignation may have been spread by mischief-makers loyal to the new leader who were now attempting to destabalise Mr Lister’s position within the party.Last night Mr Lister declined to comment on that theory.“I am not going to speak as to where the rumour came from,” was all he would say on the matter.Mr Lister was first elected in 1989.The PLP also announced today that Pembroke South East MP Rolfe Commissiong would serve as Shadow Minister of Workforce Development. Meanwhile, Shadow Attorney General Kim Wilson has assumed responsibility for National Drug Control and the Department of Corrections, two areas that had been under the remit of Shadow Public Safety Minister Michael Scott.