The voters of Warwick South Central head to the polls tomorrow to select their new MP, in the year’s second by-election for a constituency seen as a strong seat for the Opposition.

Three contenders have thrown their hats in the ring for Constituency 26: David Burch as an independent, Robyn Swan for the One Bermuda Alliance and Neville Tyrrell for the Progressive Labour Party. On advanced polling day last week, we spoke with the candidates to hear why they should represent Warwick South Central — the constituency formerly held by retired PLP leader Marc Bean, who stepped down on November 4.

The successful contender will be chosen at St Mary’s Church, the polling station that could give us the first taste of the General Election likely to come in the new year.

Neville Tyrrell, the Progressive Labour Party’s candidate is a “service person”: a Rotary president and lodge master for his fraternal association, he has “worked in the background for all sorts of charitable organisations”.

The former president of the Bermuda Football Association has a lengthy PLP history: he ran the party’s campaign in 1998 for Warwick East, later serving as PLP secretary general, then chairman, as well as a senator appointed by former Premier Alex Scott.

Mr Tyrrell chaired the Taxi Authority Review Committee in 2011, charged with bringing “some centralisation to the industry”.

“I also ran three times in Devonshire East, unsuccessfully,” Mr Tyrrell added. Michael Dunkley won it for the United Bermuda Party in 2003, and Bob Richards won in 2007 and 2012.

“Now here I am,” Mr Tyrrell said. “The good Lord above has a sense of humour, because 20 years ago I really wanted this seat. God isn’t finished with me yet.”

Mr Tyrrell, 67, has lived in the constituency’s Rocklands estate for 40 years, and believes that Warwick South Central has been neglected.

“The Railway Trail runs right across it and has really gone down in upkeep. The roads need attention. There’s a playground between Swansville and Jones Village, which up until the other day was totally neglected. If they can see to it just before an election, they can continue. The kids have nowhere to play.”

Beyond neighbourhood concerns, “a lot of people here don’t have jobs — and they are all worried about education”.

“There’s an array of issues here, not uncommon to other areas.”

Mr Tyrrell is well known in the constituency as a long-term resident. He said there had been “no push back from people; the welcome has been very warm — we may have different views but people have been very accommodating”.

“I’d like to think I can bring a sense of maturity,” he said. “I have a lot of varied experience, which gives me the opportunity speak to the issues based on experience.

“We as a party have the interests of the people very much at heart. I’m grass roots; I ran football for a long time, and football is grass roots. I understand what people feel.”

Mr Tyrrell dismissed any idea of a split between old guard and young within the Opposition.

“I can’t speak to that,” he said. “We’re all going together hand-in-hand right now.”