Throne Speech debates aren't normally particularly insightful events, they're annual rituals where Government touts their agenda and the Opposition points out its inadequacies. This year it was reasonable to expect that scenario to play itself out more acutely in light of the hype that was the Social Agenda.

That's why Friday's Throne Speech debate seemed so odd. Parliament had an unfamiliarly familiar feel; as if the UBP was again the Government and the PLP were back in Opposition.

After over-promising and under-delivering, Government had little to say about their agenda, their hearts just weren't in it. Instead their speakers seemed rattled by the Opposition's reply, devoting their time mostly to attacking the UBP. But they weren't attacking the 14 members sitting opposite them; they were attacking the combination of a distant memory and a figment of their imaginations.

The PLP thrive on an image of the UBP that no longer applies. Those days are gone, long gone. The “new UBP” refuses to play along with the PLP's song and won't be forced into the mold that the Government desperately needs them in. The UBP of 2004 is renewed, reinvigorated, confident and creative. Perhaps most significantly, they're unfazed by the age-old PLP intimidation tactics. The Government's frustration with this scenario is starkly evident.

The UBP's Throne Speech Reply was much more interesting that the Throne Speech itself, on a number of levels. It contained more interesting policy ideas and a broad vision - unlike the Social Agenda - but also represented the re-emergence of the UBP as a real political force, one comfortable with its history but not afraid to go its own way.

The seeds of current and future UBP successes were sown in the electoral defeats of 1998 and 2003. Thirty successive years in democratically elected Government is a long time - it's a very long time - and probably won't be seen again any time soon. Parties lose elections, it happens, but three decades of success can be isolating and creates distance between politicians and the electorate.

Every party and politician should be prescribed a dose of the Opposition medicine. The UBP took theirs and have responded well. Friday provided a real insight into the revolution that is occurring inside today's United Bermuda Party, and what type of future Government they will be.

Building an enduring electoral majority occurs in incremental steps over time, it doesn't happen overnight, and Friday was the first real flowering of those seeds planted in 1998. The Throne Speech Reply was a potent mixture of criticism balanced with vision and issues balanced with solutions, thrusting the Government into a defensive stance. Ironically the UBP seemed to set the agenda for the debate and the Government MPs went into attack mode - Opposition mode.

Unlike today's UBP, the 90's UBP seemed timid and unsure of itself. Timidity turns off an electorate, if you won't fight for yourself why should voters expect you to fight for them? Today's batch of UBP MPs has rediscovered the art of political guerrilla warfare, in the trenches fighting, both inside and outside Parliament. That's lesson number one of the 1998 and 2003 election losses.

The party has applied these skills effectively towards housing, seniors and now race, three signature issues of the new UBP. They've combined their greatest asset of effective management and execution with a laser-like social focus and aggressive public advocacy. The UBP aren't just verbally jousting in Parliament, they're adopting individuals, neighbourhoods, whole segments of the population, and are fighting for and with them to achieve results. That's lesson number two.

Surprisingly to some, the current UBP is seeking out a leadership role around race, the third rail of Bermuda politics. Race perpetually simmers, bubbling over when the PLP feel backed into a corner or always at election time.

The parties approach race from two very different perspectives: the UBP see it as an issue, the PLP a weapon. No longer is the UBP discussing race solely on the PLP's turf, they've shifted the discussion to a place where they can lead and provide solutions, not respond and be defensive. That's lesson number three.

The 2004 Reply to the Throne Speech explicitly tackled race from two perspectives: dialogue and policy. By seeking to unite Bermudians through dialogue and shared experience the UBP hope to bridge the divide and harness our collective greatness. The party also acknowledged that “talk is cheap”, that historical inequities persist and that our racial majority remains an economic minority. Accordingly the Opposition proposed specific initiatives to address this inequity, something that was notably absent from the Throne Speech and outlined a series of steps they would implement with a dedicated Ministry of Race Relations and Economic Empowerment.

After two defeats in six years the UBP has emerged as a stronger, focused, passionate, solution-based Government in waiting. Most importantly, they are cultivating an enduring electoral majority of voters interested in results not rhetoric.

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