Ralph Thorne

Ralph Thorne is a Barbadian lawyer and politician who is the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly of Barbados as a member of the Democratic Labour Party. He has served the House of Assembly for Christ Church South since 2018.

Early life and education

Throne was a Queen's Counsel and was the lead defence attorney for Michael Misick in his corruption trial. He operates his own law firm. Neil Rowe, a member of the Parliament of Barbados who was accused of rape, was defended by Thorne and found not guilty in 2025.

Thorne was initially a member of the Democratic Labour Party and ran for parliament with their nomination twice, but left to join the Barbados Labour Party. In the 2018 election, in which the BLP won every seat, Thorne was elected to the House of Assembly of Barbados for Christ Church South as a member of the BLP.
The BLP won every seat again in the 2022 election. Thorne crossed the floor and became leader of the opposition. He rejoined the DLP and was selected to be its leader. Thorne appointed Ryan Walters and Tricia Watson, both members of the DLP, to the seats reserved for the opposition in the Senate of Barbados before he rejoined the DLP himself.
During Thorne's tenure in parliament he chaired the Thorne Commission on Local Government which was charged with establishing People’s Assemblies, a form of local government.

Thorne married Jacqueline Cornelius, with whom he had three children. Jacqueline is a High Court judge.