I’m a St George’s Parish girl at heart. I was born in St David’s, have spent most of my life living in St George’s town and have family and countless friends from this area. And, I mean, who doesn’t love the many — OK, two — shades of blue? So versatile with the colour yellow as well, if you find yourself at Lord’s. It’s a richly historical and fervently, close-knit town.

It is also somewhat the town that Progressive Labour Party government forgot ...

I firmly believe that all politics is local first and I count all of us on both sides of the aisle as the proudest cheerleaders for our parish. Unfortunately, in the past couple of years, that local support has not been backed up by the central government. It was one of its platform promises to “enhance the community of St George’s”, but promises made and not kept are no better than ones never spoken.

The PLP promised the construction of a marina in St George’s. While this has been announced, the construction and finish dates have been continuously pushed back and recent announcements noted a 48 per cent increase in the cost from what was previously noted. This is a promise long in the making and I have yet to see anything come from it. Words alone cannot and should not be counted as progress.

The PLP promised us a waste treatment facility. Again, there have been announcements made and promises made, yet no discernible movement and/or no updates provided. This has been supposedly on the schedule for several years as well and it all seems more of a politically expedient throwaway comment as opposed to the priority it should be.

The PLP promised to ensure that St George’s continues to have a voice by ensuring our right to “sole legislation”. This may be one of the more waffly of its promises, but given the Government’s plan to reform the Corporation of St George, it also becomes one of the most two-faced. The present hybrid nature of the corporation means that those closest to the town’s issues are also the ones making most of the decisions. It translates to confirmed buy-in and equates to a more thoughtful and balanced direction. Changing that to a more quango template loses the localness of the politics.

There have been so many examples in recent years showing that St George’s has been put on the back burner. We deserve better. The PLP promised many things and delivered on few. That does not surprise me, but it does sadden me. The PLP platform rightly made mention of St George’s as a World Heritage Site, but this seems to be nothing more than a talking point for those at the upper echelons of the present PLP government. The skeleton of the support from this government for the revitalisation for our town might well exist, but, unfortunately, we cannot support ourselves with bones and no meat.

• Tia Smith is the One Bermuda Alliance candidate for St George’s North (Constituency 1)