South seat on Friday leaves Parliament with one fewer member of the great parliamentary class of 1968.

There are no MPs from that class left from the United Bermuda Party and only Speaker of the House Stanley Lowe, his Southampton East running mate Reginald Burrows, Finance Minister Eugene Cox and Stanley Morton remain on the PLP side.

But the MPs who took their seats for the first time in 1968, including Mr.

Woolridge, the late Frederick Wade, the late Dr. John Stubbs, Quinton Edness, Dr. Clarence James, Gloria McPhee, Harry Viera and Austin Thomas were part of a select group who left an indelible mark on today's Bermuda.

It is a curiosity that not one member of this talented group became Premier.

But no-one, with the possible exception of Mr. Wade, came closer to it than Mr. Woolridge, who was a constant candidate for the UBP's leadership for 25 years.

That he failed to achieve it says much about his strengths and weaknesses -- which in his case were often the same.

Unlike many politicians, Mr. Woolridge was and is a passionate man of unshakable convictions and unbending principles. As a result, he was the standard-bearer of the right wing of the UBP but was never able to reach across enough of his party to achieve the leadership.

That does no discredit to Mr. Woolridge; among the many reasons for the UBP's defeat in 1998 was the perception that its main reason for being was the retention of power and not a firmly held political philosophy. Mr. Woolridge could never be accused of that; his political career has been studded with long periods in the political wilderness, usually over matters of principle and political belief.

But it says much about the man that when his party and David Saul, the then-Premier, needed him, he returned to the Cabinet and served loyally as Works Minister until 1998 and since the General Election has been a hard working and loyal member of the Shadow Cabinet.

Mr. Woolridge says he has resigned now in order to give a potential successor time to win the seat in a by-election and establish a reputation before the next General Election, which could well be fought under a new constituency set-up.

In doing so, Mr. Woolridge has brought to a graceful end a distinguished career dedicated to public service.

He will inevitably be remembered for his long tenure as Tourism Minister, a job which suited him so well that no successor has been able to replace him as Mr. Bermuda in the eyes of the travel world.

But he should also be remembered as the reluctant candidate in 1968, who joined the then-white establishment UBP (in spite of having experienced more than his share of discrimination) in order to build a better and integrated Bermuda and then proceeded to do so.

In the weeks to come there will be plenty of candidates bidding to succeed Mr.

Woolridge in a by-election which will be a barometer for the standing of both parties midway through the Parliamentary term.

But one thing is certain: Whoever succeeds Jim Woolridge will have very big shoes to fill.