In a word, yesterday's Throne Speech was "uninspiring", said new Leader of the Opposition Grant Gibbons (pictured).

Dr. Gibbons left no doubt as to the overall thrust of his first Reply to the Throne Speech to the House of Assembly next week when The Royal Gazette contacted him for his initial reactions.

He said a number of the proposals outlined such as the environmental and financial measures were "simply reactive to what's going on in the United Kingdom".

He added : "I was struck by the amount of space given to the Afghan Appeal."

While Bermudians had been "very generous" in the past, "charity, and I would add, leadership, begins at home".

He said he was hoping for a "much more comprehensive plan to address the human issues" especially in the light of a severe economic downturn.

Details on "housing, retraining and some of the other provisions to deal with the downturn" were lacking, he said.

"There are a lot of pieces which we are going to be able to support but the devil is in the details."

A much vaunted proposal to offer payroll tax relief to businesses severely affected by the decline in tourism still leaves unanswered questions, continued the Opposition Leader.

"How much of the benefit? Who's going to get it and what is the impact on the budget?"

He added that as a document which was supposed to provide the "big picture" it failed.

"There is no big picture," Dr. Gibbons continued. "I get the sense that the Progressive Labour Party Government is floundering.

"They don't have their finger on the pulse of the way the community is feeling on these issues."