Following the election of Dr. Ewart Brown as leader of the Progressive Labour party (PLP), it was obvious that members of the PLP were energised. What was not obvious was that the UBP election strategy based upon corruption, neglect of the aged, homelessness and the failure of the Education System was derailed.

Actually, the UBP has been in serious trouble as a political party ever since Sir John Swan resigned after failing to win the referendum on independence. Sir John chose ‘independence’ because he knew that Black Bermudians in both parties strongly favoured severance from the United Kingdom. Hence, Sir John gambled that he could stop the waning support of Blacks for the UBP, if he could get a yes vote on independence by means of a referendum.

Fortunately for the PLP, their leader, Mr. L. Frederick Wade saw through the bold strategy of Sir John Swan and urged his party members to “abstain” from voting on the issue. Many did! The UBP lost the vote and Sir John resigned.

As Sir John had feared, the UBP lost the election of 1998 because his party had to continue with the failing strategies of trying to convince the voting public that the PLP could not manage the Bermuda economy and that Black Bermudians would fare much better under a UBP government. They continued with the threats of PLP incompetence (and by inference black incompetence) despite the fact that many of their members, led by Khalid Wasi, were had complained that the UBP had lost the election because they had failed to deliver on their long standing promise of black empowerment.

The UBP continued with the above strategy after the 1998 loss, despite the fact that the economy did not miss a beat under new premier Dame Jennifer Smith. In fact, the International Companies were lined up trying to get into Bermuda; Bermudian companies continued to invest in the upgrade and expansion of their facilities; and the island continued to get excellent ratings from the investment companies who measured the economic performance of countries.

The new reality did not finally sink in until after the UBP lost again in 2003. After this defeat, the UBP dropped the chorus that the PLP could not manage the economy and started to amplify social issues such as PLP corruption, the needs of the aged, the plight of the Homeless, and to complain generally about everything the PLP introduced.

For instance, with respect to the last point, after a steady harangue of the failure of the PLP to do something about the increase in violent crime, the UBP did a turnabout and complained about the introduction of increased security for the Premier was unnecessary because of the relative safety of Bermuda. Safety of Bermuda indeed! Bermuda happens to be about the only British possession or former possession in the Western Hemisphere that has experienced the assassination of a Commissioner of Police, a Governor and his ADC and the Governor’s lovable Great Dane.

The corruption charges carried the implication that there was a corrupt civil service because these were the men and women who conducted the operations of the government on behalf of the Ministers of the PLP just as they had done under the Ministers of the UBP. Hence, many civil servants are asking the question privately “Does the UBP intend to replace us with imported workers should they succeed in reclaiming the government?”

The claim that the PLP was unconcerned with the needs of the aged was perhaps the most amazing piece of UBP propaganda. A glance at the report of the 2000 census of population will show that most of the retirees are Bermudian and black. This being the case, the UBP is in fact stating that the PLP, with its 95% black support base, are not likely to assist their ageing relatives - an amazing piece of propaganda indeed.

It was claimed that the homeless constituted a growing number of Bermudians. This may be true. However, to the extent that it is true; it reflects the buoyancy of our economy which has had the result that Bermudians are competing furiously for living space with non-Bermudians whose dwellings are subsidised by their employers. These employers, incidentally, represent foreign and Bermudian owned companies who generally support the UBP and who certainly are not calling for a cessation of the economic expansion although this action would very quickly end the “housing crises”.

The UBP complaints about the failing public school system are usually supported by statements depicting the heavy migration of students to the very expensive Private School System. However this migration did not start since the PLP became the government. The private schools were very successful in attracting students from the public school system throughout the period of the UBP tenure as government. The reasons for migration are by no means clear. The growth of the private school system may reflect a desire of parents to have their children educated alongside the children of the upper classes; or it may be a lingering reflection of segregation whereby some families think the schools that their children were not permitted to enter had a better system of education. My own view is that the public schools need to place the management of the schools back in the hands of the principals.

In any event, as the UBP learned while it was in power, the solution to the public education problem is not easy. However, the PLP has sufficient ex-teachers and principals in parliament to ensure that a solution will be shortly forthcoming.

However, despite the above, it must be conceded that the new strategy of the UBP had some effect on the PLP rank and file and probably led to the defeat of Mr. Alex Scott by Dr. Brown during the Leadership contest held at the PLP Quadrennial Delegates Conference in October 2006. Dr. Brown’s campaign theme was “He gets things done”. This caught on and probably led to the defeat of Mr. Scott, not because he was unable to resolve the issues that were outlined earlier but because it was believed that Dr. Brown would be more likely to get them resolved much more quickly. “Look what he did to stimulate tourism” shouts the PLP rank and file and the black middle and upper middle class echo, “And he brought the Grand Slam to Bermuda”.

After Dr. Brown’s victory, the Black membership of the UBP was traumatised. They knew that the UBP strategy of continued references to unproven charges of corruption; and that the PLP did not care about the aged, the homeless and education, would no longer hold water - if it ever did. They knew that the PLP now had a dynamic leader who would ‘get the job done’ while the UBP were ‘treading water’.

There can be no doubt, that as a result of the election of Dr. Ewart Brown as leader of the PLP, senior members of the UBP began to desert their party. The party chairman and a UBP member of parliament declared that they were resigning from the party and a veteran MP declared that he would not be seeking re-election. These events led ultimately to the demise of Mr. Wayne Furbert, the selection of Mr. Michael Dunkley as leader and the appointment of Mrs. Patricia Gordon-Pamplin as the deputy Leader.

One can be certain that defections from a political party on the Eve of an election are not very likely to inspire the supporters of the resigning members to increase their efforts to “come to the aid of the party.” Further, the removal of Mr. Wayne Furbert by a mere ‘eight’ members of the elected MP’s’ certainly will not encourage the friends and family of Mr. Furbert to participate fully on behalf of the UBP prior to the election.

Finally the selection of Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin as Deputy Leader may enhance her own position as the representative from Paget, however it is not likely to inspire Bermuda’s blacks that she can be depended upon to look after their interests as long as she represents the most conservative constituency in Bermuda.

So we might ask, what can we expect from the leadership of Mr. Michael Dunkley?

Mr. Dunkley’s ascendancy to the leadership will bring about a much needed change in Bermudian politics. At last we have a UBP leader who is not afraid to reflect fully the concerns of the truly conservative members of the UBP. This need has been submerged for far too long and it is a necessary change Bermuda must undergo, if this country is ever to achieve the social and economic well being of which it is capable. calvin@northrock.bm