United Bermuda Party leaders met with Bermudians living in London last weekend.

On Friday Deputy Leader Cole Simons and chairman Michael Fahy met with England-based Bermudian students and workers at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, in London.

About 35 young Bermudians attended the event during which Mr. Simons and Mr. Fahy spoke followed by an open mike session in which participants were asked to voice their hopes and concerns about Bermuda, according to a UBP press release.

Bermuda issues addressed by the group included their concerns for public education, the need to protect the environment, the extreme challenge of being able to afford a Bermuda home and ending human rights discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Mr. Simons said the UBP was in England to attend the Conservative Party conference but he also spoke about the US presidential election and gave a strong-pro Obama message.

He said: "If Barack Obama becomes president on November 4, it will be because he succeeded in mobilising young Americans to turn out in numbers never before seen.

"And it is in that turnout – the turnout of young Americans responding to his message of change – that America may get that fresh new beginning it needs and the world desperately wants.

"That spirit of a new beginning embodied by young people can help move the world into a new realm where the lingering forces of the past – forces born of injustice and inequality – are displaced by a new understanding based on tolerance and respect for one another."

Mr. Fahy said the UK's Conservative Party was showing how a party that lost three elections can be reinvigorated through dedication and a belief in its values.