One Bermuda Alliance backbencher Leah Scott yesterday reiterated her commitment to the party in the wake of her removal as Junior Minister of Education.

Ms Scott expressed her disappointment with the decision, but stated that she had no intention whatsoever of leaving the party. “The basic tenants of the OBA, transparency, accountability and responsibility, they are what I still believe in,” she said. “Government is working to bring Bermuda forward.”

She added that she fully intended to continue her work with the Child Development Programme, which works in partnership with families to enhance the development of young children.

“Just because I am no longer the junior minister, it is not going to stop me from working with the Child Development Programme and doing whatever I can to support them,” she said.

Regarding the reasoning for her being removed from the junior minister post, she said she had been told the Government wanted to make sure that more people were given opportunities.

Asked if she felt critical comments she had made in the past about the Government’s handling of issues contributed to the decision to remove her as junior minister, she offered no comment.

However, Ms Scott questioned the decision to enlarge the Cabinet, saying: “I don’t know the reason for that, because we are trying to be fiscally responsible and Sage said we should be downsizing Cabinet, not making it larger. That’s something that Craig Cannonier did while he was Premier, reduce the size of the Cabinet.

“I just don’t know the justification for that but it is the Premier’s decision, so it is what it is.”

Moving forward, she said that the Government must be careful to listen to the public’s concerns as it attempted to set the island in the right direction economically.

“I do hope that we will be more attuned to the public,” she said. “At the end of the day, people want to be heard and we need to respect that.

“We cannot make the assumption that we know what’s best for everybody else. People understand that there is an economic component but we need to make sure the people have the opportunity to speak, and that is where we have fallen down as a government.

“It’s about the people. We are public servants first.”