Few have toiled longer than Arthur Hodgson to ensure the Progressive Labour Party snared Government.

But for a party formed in 1963 it was certainly a long time coming.

Lingering racial divisions ensured the PLP stayed out of power in the early years, believes Mr. Hodgson who added: "When a Government stays in office for a long, long time it is a reflection that something is fundamentally wrong in that country."

In 1968 the PLP was realistically fighting to be the official Opposition rather than Government, against a challenge from the Bermuda Democratic Party.

The PLP was still spooked by the episode four years later said Mr. Hodgson, a former Environment Minister, who got involved in the PLP in the early sixties. Thankfully the 1976 Election brought much more significant gains as the party netted 14 seats of the 40 on offer.

But it was often a case of one step forward, two steps back as the PLP struggled to present a credible, united front.

"We should definitely have won the Election in 1980 and from thereonin our defeats came not from our social conditions over which we had no control, but as a result of our own inept behaviour.

"It wasn't so much policies but public relations and personality problems."

But despite taking some pride its achievements in the last ten years, Mr. Hodgson has also been one of its frankest critics.

Indeed he lost his Cabinet post after unsuccessfully challenging Jennifer Smith as leader in 2000 however he is not slow to give her credit for the history-making win of ten years ago.

"I think Jennifer's tremendous contribution to the Country was her artistic presentation of the PLP to the country in 1998. Politics is to very large extent an art form and she was able to present the right picture."

But he believes if leader Freddie Wade had not died before getting the chance to lead the Party to victory, the march towards change would have been less hesitant.

Adjusting to power after years in Opposition was a struggle.

"It was far more difficult than I thought it would have been. But then I realised once in power I had developed my philosophy from a different era than my colleagues.

"I remember in Cabinet being very disappointed about a course of action, but it seemed as if I was among strangers. Then I looked around and there were only two people who I really knew from the old days, the rest were relatively younger folks.

"The earlier era was much more community-orientated and much less individual-orientated. It was the classic divide between left and right."

The failure to strengthen communities is something that concerns Mr. Hodgson who has deplored the way the PLP have continued with the large secondary schools brought in by the UBP, rather than developing neighbourhoods.

Changing the voting system to single seats was the most outstanding thing the PLP has achieved but the fact there was no further move to have elected parish councils has disappointed Mr. Hodgson who is a 'big picture sort of guy'.

"What Alex (Scott) appreciated was the need for some kind of coherent view for society – first he talked about the social agenda but that didn't get very far, it was only a reflection of what was in the PLP platform. Then he talked about sustainable development which I think was a little bit more meaty.

"It continues today, I don't know if it is sufficient but the development of a national view of things, a social philosophy is critical and needed."

Apart from those two initiatives he said the Scott administration had drifted while he thinks current Premier Ewart Brown has been able to identify some areas where fundamental change is needed.

"The disenchantment and alienation of our young people is the greatest failure of the PLP because the affinity we have naturally with the underclass is an affinity we should have been able to exploit for the betterment of Bermuda. But in fact we don't seem to have been able to do it.

"The reason is our failure to move forthrightly towards developing ideals in our education system and family structure. We have been singularly afraid to address them head on."

He also said the PLP had failed to address the issue of immigration while on health there should have been more preventive care promoted through the schools.

"Restoring health, I think, should be through a national health scheme. I don't think the burden should be placed on sick people."

Some of the biggest gains in the last decade have been in changing the mindset of the nation, said Mr. Hodgson.

"I suppose the achievement of the entire PLP experience is to overcome a lot of the self hate that Bermudians have engaged in and continue to, over the years.

"Black people in particular and Bermudians generally are getting over the notion that we can't do it.

"The greatest achievement is a demonstration that black people, by being in power, don't automatically create instability and confusion and the Country is being run at least as well as it had been."