claims by a would-be MP that he had registered a new political party.

She said Sanders Frith Brown's "Independent United Bermuda Party'' had not been registered at her office.

And she added: "Indeed, there is no requirement in the law that political parties should be registered with the Parliamentary Register.'' Mr. Frith Brown made the claim in an article in the Mid-Ocean News yesterday.

The UBP maverick -- a three-time loser in bids to be selected as an approved candidate for the United Bermuda Party -- last month declared his intention to contest the by-election for ex-Premier Sir John Swan's old Paget East seat on May 6.

Mr. Frith Brown -- a UBP member in Warwick -- said then he would stand in Paget East in protest at machine politics and the party system.

He said: "I will run on the UBP platform but I will be responsible to the constituents -- not some unelected party oligarchy. They will obviously try and stop me but I can call myself anything I want.'' But that view was later contested by UBP executive officer Oliver Bain. He said Mr. Frith-Brown could run as an independent candidate -- but not as an Independent United Bermuda Party one.

Mr. Bain said use of the UBP name had to be approved by the party hierarchy and submitted to the Registrar as part of the Bermuda Government's nomination process for all candidates.

He said: "Unless Mr. Frith Brown becomes an approved and eventually an adopted candidate in a branch in the future, he must run as an independent candidate without support from the UBP.'' On Friday, a spokesman for the Parliamentary Registrar said the controversy was a matter for the UBP and Mr. Frith Brown.

He added: "I would think the UBP might have grounds for legal action on the use of the United Bermuda Party name -- but I would go no further than that.'' Mr. Frith-Brown will line up against the official UBP candidate Kim Young, adopted on Thursday after a landslide primary victory over Government Senate Leader Lynda Milligan-Whyte and ex-UBP deputy chairman David Sullivan.

Favourite to succeed Sir John in the Paget East UBP stronghold is Mrs. Young.

She said last night she was not aware of the legal position over the name under which Mr. Frith Brown plans to challenge her.

But she said she did not expect him to cause any major headaches for her campaign.

Mrs. Young said: "I don't think so. You can, I think, get more accomplished working within the framework that's already set up.'' Mrs. Young will also face Progressive Labour Party candidate, senior financial portfolio accountant Craig Walls in the by-election. The National Liberal Party will not contest the seat.

At the last by-election in Paget East -- in 1994 when Grant Gibbons replaced the late John Stubbs -- Dr. Gibbons took 605 of the 730 votes.

The NLP's Geoff Parker was second with 83 votes and PLP candidate Rolfe Commissiong garnered 39 ballots.

POLITICAL PTL