The Westminster system of government is condemning Bermuda to constant conflict and division which prevents harmony in the community, a public meeting heard last night.

Just 25 people turned up at Hamilton Cathedral for the meeting on the future of government in Bermuda, which was broadcast live on ZBM.

But there was agreement among the five panelists, that the Island does not need to simply accept the adversarial Westminster parliamentary model passed on from Britain.

Panelist Stuart Hayward, a former independent MP, said the Westminster system "divides each issue into for and against.

"Even when race is not an issue, it takes on a racial flavour or a local versus foreigner flavour. A permanent us versus them overshadows our lives and precludes us living in harmony.'' He said the system was introduced hundreds of years ago in England to divide and conquer ordinary people to retain power in the hands of the nobility.

The emphasis on adversarial political parties led Government here into falling into the trap of thinking it only represented those who voted for it.

He called for the Senate, which could act as a correcting balance against party domination in the House of Assembly, to be directly elected.

UBP supporter David Sullivan, speaking in a personal capacity, said Bermuda lived in a different reality from the era in which the PLP was borne.

It was now a major offshore financial centre, which no longer has tourism dominating the economy.

A fresh look at Government was needed, and the PLP's electoral reforms were "nothing more than fulfilling some half-baked promise from the 60s that may have been appropriate at that time''.

Fellow panelist and black activist Rolfe Commissiong said the UBP would disappear and that Bermudians would have to eventually choose between two predominantly black parties.

He later dismissed as "naive'' claims that parties were an impediment to progress, saying parties arose because people coalesce around common issues.

Former Bermuda Sun editor Tom Vesey said the Westminster system was not designed to be inclusive.

The system did not trust the people to have a direct say in electing the Premier, and no say in electing Senate or the Governor.

The two-party adversarial system was not appropriate for Bermuda because the Island is so small and the bitter arguments in the House led to personal abuse being heaped on MPs who were also friends and neighbours.

Backbenchers had little to do but either blindly support or attack the Government, so there was no point in MPs mustering the finer points of policy detail.

"It is illegal to bribe an MP, but it happens every week in the House of Assembly. I believe the Whips should be banned,'' he said.

Party discipline meant that despite the public meetings "not one clause was changed or one comma moved''. Any change was done behind the clsoed doors or Cabinet.

Meeting organiser Khalid Wasi said political systems were the products of a nation's spiritual well-being.

Bermuda needed inspired individuals like Nelson Mandela to rise above their prejudices to create a system for the common good.

CHURCH CHU