Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan will make an announcement about his "political future'' on Monday, The Royal Gazette has learned.

An extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet has been called for 11.30 a.m., followed by a noon meeting of the United Bermuda Party caucus, sources said.

At the meetings, Sir John will make an announcement regarding "his political future'' following the August 15 Independence referendum, a source said last night.

While it was widely expected the announcement would include a plan to resign, it was not clear last night when any resignation would take effect or whether it would be conditional on the outcome of the referendum.

Sir John has been Premier of Bermuda for more than 13 years, making him the longest-serving leader since the Island achieved resonsible Government. His Independence initiative which began in December of 1993 has split the UBP and placed his leadership under severe strain.

Sir John's Thursday night peace offering to the Progressive Labour Party during a leaders' debate at Cathedral Hall set off a fresh war within his caucus.

Government MPs were stunned to learn that the Hon. Sir John Swan had offered the PLP "an olive branch'' on the Independence referendum by publicly endorsing a long-standing Opposition call for single-seat constituencies.

"I was shocked when I heard it on the news,'' said Tourism Minister the Hon.

C.V. (Jim) Woolridge, a Cabinet Minister who is outspoken in his opposition to Independence. "At no time at our meetings, officially or otherwise, have I had any discussions regarding that.'' At a debate involving the three party leaders, Sir John said he was expressing his "personal view'' on moving to single-seat constituencies. But he said he and Mr. Wade had "a basis on which we can move forward'' in calling for a `yes' vote in the August 15 Independence referendum. Mr. Wade rebuffed the offer, saying Sir John had no authority to make it. The PLP leader continued to call on his supporters to abstain in the vote.

Yesterday, Mr. Woolridge said it was comments like those by the Premier on Thursday that had "put us in the bloody mess we're in now.'' "I think the people of this Country are intelligent enough to know that they have to look out for themselves. When the decision is made, it's made after careful study. We're going to be doing the best for all the people of this Country, and not one or two that are looking to enhance their own dreams.'' Even Deputy Premier the Hon. Irving Pearman, a Swan loyalist who chairs the Cabinet committee on Independence, was clearly taken aback by the Premier's remarks.

"I just love perfect people -- I'm not one,'' Mr. Pearman said. "I could goof up and say something. I do it all the time.'' While reform of electoral boundaries had been addressed in the Green Paper, "I haven't studied the effect of single-seat constituencies,'' Mr. Pearman said. "It may be one of the things we'll have to look at.'' While single-seat constituencies could be easily implemented with a reduction to 30 MPs from 40, as suggested by the PLP, it was trickier to achieve while keeping 40 MPs, as has been the Government's position, he said.

"It was something that he had put out without the benefit of full debate and study,'' Mr. Pearman said of the Premier's offer.

The public would feel better if the party leaders could sit down and discuss some of these issues, he said.

"It amazes me that the stakes seem to get higher and higher,'' said Government Whip Mr. John Barritt. "I thought this was all about education.

The way things are going the next level that we'll move to is people threatening to resign if the vote doesn't go their way.'' Government Sen. Lawrence Scott was one of the few members of the Government caucus to jump to the Premier's defence. "I have no problem with it,'' he said of the peace offering. "It would be worth our while, particularly those in favour of Independence, to draw as many people in favour of Independence into the same camp. What we're saying is that if Freddie is prepared to take the olive branch that is offered, we would go back and try to get that same consensus.'' Health and Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness also defended the Premier, saying: "He's the leader, and he has the right to voice these opinions.'' To party dissenters, Mr. Edness said the cost of villifying Sir John over Independence would be losing the next election to the PLP.

Works and Engineering Minister the Hon. Leonard Gibbons, who has remained publicly neutral on Independence, said the Premier's comments "came as a bit of a surprise'' to him. "It obviously was his personal opinion.'' The Minister, who represents Smith's North, said he likes double-seat constituencies. "It certainly gives the voters an opportunity, if for some reason they don't particularly get on well with one of their representatives to be able to contact the other.'' Meanwhile, Government backbencher the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto, who quit Cabinet over the Independence issue, said Sir John had "abused his position'' and should "seriously consider his resignation. "I think the time has come when we need a fresh leader from the United Bermuda Party so we can rebuild the party,'' she said.

UBP backbencher Mr. Trevor Moniz said: "What we're seeing are the desperate acts of desperate men.

"John Swan is in no position to make any offer to anyone,'' he said.