The United Bermuda Party is now so weak Premier Ewart Brown's new Opposition will be his own backbench, Progressive Labour Party MPs predict.

Dr. Brown's critics among his PLP colleagues — including experienced former Ministers he has either sacked from Cabinet or who have resigned — are said to be ready to up their own game to keep the Premier in check.

But a leadership challenge at next month's PLP annual delegates' conference was deemed unlikely, with dissenters said to be prepared to wait out one more year as Dr. Brown has said he will stand down in 2010.

The Premier has not ruled out taking advantage of disarray within the Opposition by calling a snap election before the UBP's three defecting MPs have got their new third party off the ground.

Some backbenchers say it would be a chance for Dr. Brown to weed his critics out of the House of Assembly by pushing for his own supporters to be fielded as candidates instead of them.

However, PLP MPs speaking to The Royal Gazette yesterday were largely against a snap election, with some saying it would not be good for democracy for one party to have a huge majority of seats in the House.

Most MPs also ruled out any chance of dissenting backbenchers joining forces with former UBP rebels Shawn Crockwell, Donte Hunt and Mark Pettingill.

They said the new party had erred in highlighting the racially diverse nature of their group, a tactic for which the UBP has come under fire for years.

One PLP MP, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of the feeling among PLP MPs: "I think what the UBP defectors are doing, in essence, may put further division in the PLP.

"If the UBP can't be an effective Opposition, when things are going wrong there's people from within that might be the effective Opposition.

"If we can see things are wrong, it's left to those on our side to point them out. You are looking for good governance. The best way to reach that is through having a strong Opposition."

On the defectors, the MP said: "They highlighted their biracial relationship.

"I don't understand why they did that. Even if they were to suggest race is not an issue, to highlight it makes it an issue because they think it's a qualifying factor.

"I can't think of a political analyst advising them to make that kind of point."

Former Energy Minister Terry Lister, who left Cabinet after lambasting the Premier in a speech in the House, didn't comment on whether backbenchers would become the new Opposition but said he would never turn his back on his party.

"There will be a green and white flag over my coffin," he said. "I have no interest in leaving the PLP and joining anybody else. Those guys have a right to do what they want to do. But in order for them to serve they need a leader and thus far no leader has appeared. Until they have a leader, they have a hard way to go."

Asked if he thought Dr. Brown would call a snap election to get more Brownites into the House, Mr. Lister said: "I would be surprised by it and the prime reason is because of the point you make. Getting the people in places that you want — it's a little tricky to do that. Some politicians are brave enough to try it and some aren't. I would be surprised."

Former Culture Minister Dale Butler said of the chance of an election: "Elections take money. Elections take organisation. I don't see a snap election."

Asked about the chance of a leadership challenge, Mr. Butler said: "I think the party solidified itself when it had the last big [Central Committee] meeting, which was jam-packed, at the party headquarters on Court Street.

"I don't see anything happening in October. I think people really want to put that behind them and get on with meeting the needs of the Country."

He added: "I think the Premier took his licks on the doorstep. We had the big meeting where they could have ripped his heart out. They didn't. There were some critical comments made but by and large people said: 'OK, let's move on'. There is no movement afoot [to oust Dr. Brown]. I haven't found or heard of anything from my branch or any others that there is a move afoot."

Veteran backbencher Walter Lister said he didn't think there was any chance of a snap election.

"We have a mandate and we are working on it. It's presently in place and I think we are doing extremely well in the circumstances," he said.

"What happens on the other side of the House, I'm not excited about it. I was in the party [the PLP] when they had a similar thing back in 1983 and it wasn't a good move for us and I don't think it's a good move for the UBP.

"It creates concern among the voters; much concern, by many people — those that are within the breakaway and those with the other groups."

The Premier told Wednesday's Bermuda Sun the PLP was "keeping our options open" over the chance of a snap election.

Asked if that was his stance yesterday, Dr. Brown replied through a Government spokesperson that he had no comment.