David Burt is one of the most skilled political operators in modern Bermudian politics. He has a sharp mind, a strong command of communication and the ability to lead his party effectively.

I respect those abilities without hesitation. But I completely disagree with the direction he has taken this country since the start of his premiership — especially the increasing use of race-baiting.

His recent performance in London — calling our young men “community terrorists” while cloaking himself in colonial grievance — was the last straw for me. It revealed the backward framework around race, class and nationality that has shaped his leadership while our communities continue to bleed.

Last week, we met with national security minister Michael Weeks and Leroy Bean for more than an hour and made genuine progress. Concerns raised at the town hall sessions were formally addressed and documented, and commitments were made to move forward.

But the Premier’s London remarks, delivered that same week, suggest this situation could be far from simple. The path to peace may now exist, but that doesn’t mean the Government is prepared to walk it.

The contrast is sharp:

• Minister Weeks engaged substantively, face-to-face

• The Premier went abroad, blamed Britain and labelled our young men “terrorists”

This disconnect is the real challenge. It’s not the absence of solutions; it’s the absence of a unified direction at the top.

While the Premier was in London, a young man in Westgate wrote:

“Playing cards with someone you once hated because they were from 'the other side' of this 21-square-mile island… How is it that you can coexist within a few thousand square feet when a whole island wasn’t sufficient?”

His perspective recognises our crisis as a breakdown of community. The Premier’s perspective frames it as a policing issue requiring British intervention and “terrorist” labels. One world view seeks healing; the other seeks deflection.

In London, the Premier used anticolonial language while avoiding accountability for the policies harming Black communities at home. He spoke of racial geography — claiming Britain treats Caribbean territories worse than Gibraltar — while his own government sidelines proven Black community intermediaries who have delivered results for decades.

You cannot wave the anticolonial flag while labelling Black young men “terrorists” and treating Black community voices as subjects to be consulted — not partners to be empowered. That’s not liberation. That’s neocolonialism.

As a footnote, Bermuda has to be the only colony to experience neocolonialism without first becoming independent. We are truly another world.

Jah’Mico Trott, son of Steve Parkes, who was our business partner and was murdered doing restorative work, asked a question that exposes Bermuda’s class divide:

“Why is a kilo of cocaine now cheaper than a year’s tuition at Saltus?”

He reached out multiple times to continue that work. No response from leadership. But the Premier had time to fly abroad to blame Britain.

Mr Burt says we are “not self-governing”, then demands Britain do more because constitutional restraints prevent action. Yet the Progressive Labour Party leadership has governed for 27 of the past 31 years.

It was not Britain which prevented any of the following:

• Implementation of Sounds of Sanctuary (proposed in 2010)

• Partnership with the Emperial Group (proven success since 1996)

• Revival of Ashay (delivered real results from 2003 to 2008)

This isn’t constitutional paralysis; it’s leadership paralysis.

We delivered a 15:1 voter registration success between 1996 and 1998, targeting first-time voters under 21 — the youth vote that catapulted the PLP leadership to power in 1998. The model worked but was the very beginning of broken promises.

We warned Cabinet in 2004 about rising tensions among the youth, long before the PLP leadership understood what was happening. The tragedy at Wellington Oval in 2004 proved us right.

And now the chickens are roosting.

We proposed Sounds of Sanctuary in 2010, targeting the very groups that police commissioner Darrin Simons now identifies. It received public support, but was never implemented.

Mr Weeks is engaging now, and we acknowledge that progress. But his town hall response, combined with the Premier’s London remarks, show a familiar pattern:

• Black community voices with proven track records get “consultation”

• Black community solutions that deliver results get absorbed into documents

• Black young men get labelled “terrorists”

Real partnership requires more than meetings; it requires alignment at the top.

More than 40 murders remain unsolved. A young man in Westgate is teaching prevention more effectively than government programmes. Jah'Mico Trott shares first-hand expertise while unqualified friends and family are hired to sit silent. And the Premier calls our young men “terrorists” on an international stage.

This growing disaffection is not simply emotional; it's fundamentally disingenuous and deeply political. People see the hypocrisy:

• Anticolonial rhetoric about racism abroad paired with criminalising Black youth at home

• International jet-setting for self-congratulatory conferences paired with claims that funding is not available for preventive programmes in the community

• Colonial grievance used for political theatre while pushing one's own “pro-independence” support base into greater reliance on their British passports

The Premier’s skill makes the contradiction more damaging — because he is effective enough to use the rhetoric of unity while the divisive reality on the ground gets worse.

We at The Emperial Group are ready, as we have always been ready, since before our 15:1 success proved our model works. Even when our parliamentary leadership didn’t understand it.

Steve Parkes delivered results until he was murdered. His son is ready to continue that work.

The man writing from Westgate is delivering prevention right now.

We have delivered results for decades when our leaders have chosen to work with us.

Minister Weeks has opened the door, but the Premier’s London performance shows the path forward is not guaranteed. Just because the path exists does not mean this government will walk it.

The Premier is skilled enough to align his leadership with the progress being made. The question is whether his world view allows him to partner with independent community intermediaries who deliver results — rather than performing anticolonialism abroad while the work happens without him at home. His London statement showed that this framework is fundamentally backward.

And with 40-plus unsolved murders and rising disaffection, we must say plainly: this backward approach costs lives.

Results require partnership. Partnership requires leadership alignment. We have the track record. We have examples of the solutions. We have people ready to work in tandem today.

The path to peace is available. Whether this government takes it remains to be seen.

• Gladwyn Simmons is a member of The Emperial Group, espousing unity in the community world vibe, fighting with peace and not for it