with the Opposition.

And he poured cold water on claims that the Progressive Labour Party was an almost totally black party.

Mr. Burgess said: "It's always been said the PLP's a black party -- but it's open to all people, regardless of race, creed, colour and religion.

"For people to get the impression we don't accept whites is misleading and untrue.'' Mr. Burgess -- head of the Bermuda Industrial Union and an MP for Hamilton East -- admitted the PLP had always faced difficulty recruiting white members.

But he insisted the problem was more negative reactions from the white community to would-be PLP members and candidates than the party itself.

Mr. Burgess said: "They have seen what has happened to others when they joined.'' He added whites who had joined the PLP in the past had, in one case, lost their job and others, including Shadow Tourism Minister David Allen, had been threatened with the loss of his mortgage.

Mr. Burgess claimed: "A lot of the whites are apprehensive because of the way their own would treat them.

"Black people do join white organisations -- just look at the churches. The only way the United Bermuda Party became integrated is because blacks joined it.

"If people are saying the PLP isn't integrated, the only way it can be is if white people join it.''