Michael Scott?s victory in last night?s Sandys North by-election will come as good news to Premier Alex Scott and the Progressive Labour Party.

This was a by-election in which the PLP would have been happy to retain the seat while the United Bermuda Party had nothing to lose and everything to gain if it was able to narrow the margin of victory achieved by late Finance Minister Eugene Cox.

As it was, Mr. Scott secured a slightly higher share of the vote than Mr. Cox did in last year?s General Election, and that suggests that the PLP?s hold on power is more secure than ever, given that Mr. Scott was stepping into the big shoes of the popular Mr. Cox, who had held the seat with one break since 1977.

Any hopes that the UBP might have had that Sandys North voters would use the by-election as a protest vote have clearly been dashed. Dissatisfaction among some residents with Government and West End Development Corporation policies did not translate into votes and this will be worrying for the UBP.

Mr. Scott, the former Government Senate Leader, ran a conventional campaign, in effect running on the Government?s record and putting his own reputation for honesty and integrity on the line.

In the end, that paid off. The UBP?s candidate, Corin Smith, by contrast, ran an unconventional campaign, which based on his campaign literature sought to distance him from the United Bermuda Party under the One Bermuda banner. Indeed much of the style of the campaign was lifted from the Gombey Liberation Party, which ran unsuccessfully against former Premier Jennifer Smith in last year?s General Election.

Mr. Smith?s strategy seemed to be an attempt to win over uncommitted, alienated and apathetic voters to his candidacy rather than mobilising the UBP?s base of around 200 or 300 voters in the constituency.

If successful, the campaign could have provided some pointers to the UBP on how to get over the top. As it was, the UBP will have to go back to the drawing board and rethink its strategy. It does appear that Mr. Smith gained some traction with his criticism of Wedco and dissatisfaction among residents and tenants of the former Royal Naval lands. And whether the decision to postpone increases in fees paid by Wedco tenants was right or wrong in principle, it was clearly a political decision based on the imminence of the by-election. So to that extent at least, Mr. Smith can claim some credit. However, the act seemed to pay off for the Government, which at the very least demonstrates the power of incumbency.

On the national level, pundits will be looking at this result to see if the performance of Premier Alex Scott since taking over the Premiership had any effect. While by-elections are not always accurate barometers, the evidence would suggest that voters are satisfied with both his performance and his Government?s.

Similarly, the result will reflect to some degree on the performance of Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons and the UBP since the General Election. Having come out of the General Election with a good deal of momentum, the UBP, which had focused heavily and successfully on the performance of former Premier Jennifer Smith before last July, has not yet come up with a strategy for tackling the new administration. It will need to do so if it is to have any chance of regaining power.