Energy Minister Terry Lister was among the PLP MPs who spoke out against Premier Ewart Brown, calling for him to step down, during a debate in the House of Assembly on Friday. This is the text of his speech.

"Mr Speaker, I'm further saddened tonight because we are coming to the end of what must be described as an interesting session we started, I think, almost on the first day with the tabling of the gaming legislation, then we ended it today with that legislation failing.

We've seen new Bermudians appear, I guess, the Uighurs. We've seen three marches, two on this Honourable House and one on the Senate grounds at Cabinet. And I have to say that I'm looking at an empty seat beside me, and that makes me sad as well, because leadership is so very important.

Leadership is very important and it is a heavy burden that leadership brings. It's a grave responsibility, and one should never, never take it lightly.

This House, this Party, this Country, suffer right now for leadership. We are in a leadership crisis.

I have known Dr. Brown a long time, the Honourable Member. I consider him a friend. Way back in 1991 our former leader, L. Frederick Wade, a great member of this House, the leader of this Party and the deputy leader got together and appointed former Premier, the Honourable Member Alex Scott and myself to serve as co-campaign chairs for the coming election.

Around 1992 we sat down one night and we talked and Mr. Wade said: 'Look, I think I can get Ewart Brown to come back to Bermuda'.

And we were excited at the prospect of getting Ewart Brown to come back to Bermuda.

The Premier is a charismatic man. He is a bold man. He is exciting at times. He's always looking to hit the home run. Singles and doubles don't excite him, he wants to go over the fence.

Sometimes, that causes problems. He is actually a very confident man, confident to a fault, but often very divisive. Very divisive.

He's brought us a lot of good. Who would have thought to put a Sally Bassett memorial right there on the Cabinet grounds? Who would have thought to put a memorial in place for the men and women lost at sea over all these years, to help bring closure for their families. Look at the Dockyard cruise dock. Tremendous. But at what cost, financially?

We've embarked on, and my colleague, the Honourable Member Mr James, is carrying forward the ball on a review of the education system but, again, at what cost? The cost being loss of confidence in the system.

People walk away. The numbers are falling because confidence has been shaken for the people.

And FutureCare. Man. Free day care. Tremendous. Great thing. Free school buses, or free buses for schoolchildren. How could you argue against them? These things have been delivered to our people by the PLP, the people loving party. Great stuff.

Continued support for cricket and soccer, even while the other sports complain. I think we'll adjust that as time goes by to recognise all sports. All sports should be recognised, but we've continued that support.

We've seen the Lamb-Foggo Urgent Care Centre established in the Eastern End. Some people say it's for St. David's, it's not for St. David's, it's for the Eastern End, the Eastern End of the Island. And this is a good thing.

We've heard a lot about Mirrors, a wonderful idea. But Mirrors, with it comes a need for family counselling. You can't just counsel the young people, you have to counsel everybody involved because that young person goes right back into that environment.

Tonight, in the speeches we've had all night we've talked about the family issues, so there's a piece that's missing.

We've seen the PGA brought here, and now we have the Port Royal Golf Course. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. These are the great things, this is the leadership the Honourable member brings to this House, this Party, this Government. And the Country.

But, Mr. Speaker, there's another side.

This member has no respect for this House. The seat sits vacant right now. The member brings a bill, I don't know how the Opposition debate it. The introduction, the discussion on second reading is almost nothing. How one can debate that is beyond me. I don't know.

There are times for Parliament. I hardly saw the member today. His bill. We're here at midnight, 12.30 a.m., on his bill. Hardly saw him in this place. His motion.

Loves the post and the privileges of being leader. Doesn't seem to love the Country, he's never here. We've seen more acting Premiers than we ever did. Concern about spending by ministers. 'Keep your spending down', but spends $400,000 himself. Can't understand that. Can't understand it.

We have a music festival that loses several million dollars. For three nights. We have a love festival that brings in 75 people and uses top-class entertainers that cost a lot of money.

We look at our budget book. Mr. Speaker, you will remember that I stood here for seven years in a row and bragged about how little debt we had. We inherited about $150 million. The budget book says that in 1999, the debt was $164 million. In 2004-5 it was $175 million. That's great work by our financial ministers. Great guidance by our Premier.

The budget book says that when we get to the end of this year, we'll be at $680 million. I know a little something about finances, a little something. By my calculations, if we trim our sails, raise taxes a little bit, and work really hard, we'll get that paid off in 15 years.

That's a scary proposition. Scary proposition. To go from $160 million, to $175 million in seven years, to all of a sudden looking down the gun at $680 million. It's frightening.

Mr. Speaker, tonight we debated youth gangs and lawlessness, and somebody said: "How can we expect the kids to be proper and in order, if they don't see respect for law and order and doing the right things from here?" Oh I wouldn't just say up here. Put it in a specific place up here.

We're not getting what we need. When I have a leader and the Country has a leader that says: "Well, you know, I'm a bit of a rebel," and the Country is falling apart. When people need to be brought together, it's not right.

And you recall last week, Mr. Speaker, that I came here and I debated the Energy Bill and members on the other side got very worked up. When I got up to close it out, I said: "I wish to apologise, because I didn't say it in a way that you understood it." Do you remember that? And I explained it again, and the fire of the debate went away.

I had been told early on that there was to be a vote on this, because members were really unhappy. By the time we ended, we were all happy. All smiles. Because I understand that you respect people, and when an apology is due, you give it. My parents taught me that a long time ago, and you certainly can't run a country and tell the people, the whole country, that you don't apologise. It cannot go on.

Mr. Speaker, it hurts me, but I see what our leader has done to his political friends. Three years ago we had people who were brave enough to encourage and support his move for the leadership. Nelson Bascome, Dennis Lister went out and did everything they could. Soon after, the Honourable Member Mr. Bascome was asked to step down from Cabinet because of a court case.

The case actually went on a year later, the whole time he remained in Cabinet. Yet, we recall that under the leadership of the Honourable Member Dame Jennifer Smith, we had the breakout of the BHC crisis, and that same member was named, and no one asked for a resignation. Instead we stood together by Minister Bascome.

Premier Alex Scott was the Premier, and obviously he would have expected his Cabinet to stand behind him. Honourable Members Horton and Perinchief went out and said they're supporting Dr. Brown while sitting in Cabinet. Outrageous, but they were brave enough to do it.

All four of those men have had to vacate Cabinet. All four of those men have been harshly treated. I don't understand that. Now you might say that I'm doing the same thing here tonight.

I have supported Dr. Brown, the Honourable Member, from day one, fearlessly and faithfully, but there comes a time, there comes a time.

There comes a time when the drumbeat of the community gets too loud, when you can't even hear yourself think anymore, when you get tired of people stopping you and saying the same thing day in and day out, and the actions continue. You see no change.

The Uighurs came, people marched. You know, I don't believe the majority of people marched against Uighurs, I think the majority of people marched because they had enough. They had enough.

That's how our supporters felt. And of course when we stood here and they marched, we thought: 'Oh, well none of those people vote for us, they don't look like us,' all that sort of thing. But just because they didn't look like us doesn't mean that those people who support the PLP weren't as upset. They just weren't prepared to come out and march against their Government. They wanted to still look like they were OK. But they're not.

Mr. Speaker, there's a time for everything. Now is the time to go. The time to go.

You may ask me why I speak out now. We've had plenty of time to speak out. This is the end of the session. We break now. We come back in three months.

I'm calling for Dr. Brown to step down as soon as possible, and to allow the Party to select, though our democratic process that we are proud of, a new leader who would heal the parliamentary group, which is badly in need of healing, and heal the Country, and allow us to go forward, so when we come back here in November we can focus, and not spend time trying to pass a bill trying to figure out who's going to vote against me and who's not.

Trying to encourage members who I think are going to support it to come to the House and hope that the others don't. It's the end of that. It's finished. I'm calling on Dr. Brown to stop, assist, step down. I'm calling on members to stand in the same line. Thank you Mr. Speaker."

What the– others said

This is the end of the debate during Friday's Motion of Adjourn in the House of Assembly.

After a long debate on the subject of gang activity on the Island, during motion to adjourn, four PLP MP's stood up and called for the resignation of Premier Dr. Ewart Brown.

Energy Minister Terry Lister led the call, telling the House of Assembly that he had supported the Premier in the past, but was asking him to step down to allow the PLP to move forward in November when the House of Assembly comes back into session.

PLP backbencher and rebel MP Randy Horton followed Mr. Lister calling for Dr. Brown to step down.

"I've been telling people I've never seen Bermuda so divided as it is right now, and mainly because of the leadership," he said.

"I thought he had the acumen. How disappointed Mr. Speaker, I am. How disappointed I am the way our leader has led our country."

Mr. Horton had missed the morning's vote on the cruise ship gaming bill, which was brought forward despite previous statements that it would be held over until the next session.

Mr. Horton, like many members of the Cabinet, had not been informed that the vote was going ahead.

"I was abroad today. I didn't vote today because I was away. I decided I was going to come back. I had a feeling. We were told that bill was not coming forward.

"I woke up at 5 a.m. with that on my mind. By the time I got here, it had all been done."

Dr. Brown had said putting the bill forward had been a last minute decision.

Mr. Horton added: "I've supported him, but I can't support this. I felt sorry for the poor whip this morning. The whip who has told the Opposition we're not going to talk about it."

According to Mr. Horton, a message had been sent to those who Dr. Brown believed would support the bill, telling them to be in House early, while others, even within the PLP, remained in the dark.

"Is it politics? Absolutely it is, but it's not the type of politics that this country deserves.

"I don't think there is a soul in the House right now who can say they trust the Premier right now. It's the pick that broke the ice.

"It's time for the Honourable Premier to resign and allow this Party to elect a new leader."

PLP Backbencher Wayne Perinchief described Dr. Brown's leadership as "post-colonialism."

"I have been a very strident and conscious critic of the leadership shown this entire term. What happened today is consistent with what has happened with other matters in this House.

"There comes a time where partisan politics need to take second place to politics to lead a country. Leadership should bring people together, not divide them.

"Enough is enough," he said.

While Mr. Perinchief said that he might be labelled a traitor, that he and the others who stood would "rise above those barbs".

"It's something that's a watershed moment in the annuls of this House. I cannot remember another leader challenged in this way in the House.

"In the recess, our Government and our Party have to make tough decisions."

Minister of Education Elvin James said that in the past, the PLP had removed members in ways that were questionable, but that in this case something needed to be done.

"After taking power, we've done some things that were not quite politically mature. In the last 11 years, we've become a mature political party, and we've been trying to do things the right way.

"I've listened to my constituents who said, where is your backbone? where is your spine?"

Mr. James admitted signing a pledge of support when asked, saying he felt it was the right thing to do at the time. "Now, Mr. Speaker, I must realise that no man is bigger than this Party.

"I do believe the Premier needs to read the handwriting on the wall. Maybe the time has come to pick the Party over himself.

"Dr. Brown is a good friend, but I must remember I was put here by all those people who voted for me in Warwick.

"We cannot sacrifice this Party for one person."