Independence

The islands gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981, becoming the nation of Antigua and Barbuda. The country became part of the Commonwealth of Nations, and a constitutional monarchy, with the first Queen of Antigua and Barbuda being Elizabeth II. The monarch is represented in the country by the governor-general of Antigua and Barbuda.

In 1997, Prime Minister Lester Bird announced that a group of ecologically sensitive islands just off Antigua's northeastern coast, previously proposed for national park status, were being turned over to Malaysian developers. The Guiana Island Development Project deal, calling for a 1,000-room hotel, an 18-hole golf course and a world-class casino, sparked widespread criticism by environmentalists, minority members in parliament and the press. The issue came to a head when a local resident shot the PM's brother. Today,the proposed development is mired in lawsuits and politics.

The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) won renewed mandates in the general elections in 1984 and 1989. In the 1989 elections, the ruling ABLP won all but two of the 17 seats. During elections in March 1994, power passed from Vere Bird to his son, Lester Bird, but remained within the ABLP which won 11 of the 17 parliamentary seats. The United Progressive Party won the 2004 elections and Baldwin Spencer became Prime Minister, removing from power the longest-serving elected government in the Caribbean. Baldwin was the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014.

In 2014 the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party regained power from a massive win with the leader being the "World Boss", Gaston A. Browne. A snap election was called three years later, and the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party led by the incumbent Prime Minister Hon. Gaston Browne dominated the elections with a landslide victory of 15-1-1. General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 18 January 2023 to elect members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party (ABLP) has held an absolute majority of 15 seats in the House of Representatives after the 2018 general election, with Gaston Browne remaining as prime minister. Browne initiated a constitutional referendum after the 2018 election, which was rejected by voters, and following the death of Elizabeth II in 2022, he announced his intention to hold a referendum for the country's transition to a republican system. Besides ABLP, the United Progressive Party (UPP), Democratic National Alliance, Barbuda People's Movement (BPM), and three independent politicians filed candidacies for the 2023 general election.