The Progressive Labour Party has postponed its upcoming annual general conference that will decide a new party leader and Premier.

The party said that the Central Committee, which met at party headquarters on Monday night, decided to delay the conference that was scheduled for October 28 to 30.

A message to members added: “Accordingly, the current conference timetable is paused.

“All delegate selection meetings scheduled under that timetable are postponed and should not take place until a revised timetable is issued.”

The announcement came after Curtis Dickinson, a former finance minister vying to lead the ruling party, took legal action to block progress on a membership process he claimed was contrary to the PLP constitution.

The proposals, made at a Central Committee meeting on August 24, moved that anyone who publicly campaigned against the PLP during the previous two general elections should be prevented from automatically joining the party and that people must have been members for at least a year to be eligible to be delegates.

Mr Dickinson’s campaign team said this month that the PLP constitution reflected the “values, traditions and principles and democratic traditions that have guided generations of members” and must be respected.

The statement added: “If those rules are to change, the membership must have a voice and a fair opportunity to participate in that process.”

It explained that the civil action, which sought an injunction to prevent the changes from coming into effect, was taken “with great reluctance” and only after trying to resolve the issues within the party.

Mr Burt later said the proposed changes were justified and reasonable and claimed that people who previously served on the One Bermuda Alliance executive and ran against the PLP were registering as party members.

Mr Dickinson was understood to not have been allowed into another Central Committee meeting last week, where it was agreed to hold a Special Delegates Conference, but that was also postponed.

The campaign team for Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, who is challenging Mr Dickinson for the PLP leadership, said the situation was “creating division, distrust and uncertainty within our party” and urged those involved to settle their differences through dialogue rather than legal proceedings.

Mr Hayward added that the PLP must stay strong after the leadership contest was over. “Our branches must still be strong, our members must still be able to work together And our movement must remain focused on the people we exist to serve,” he said.

Last night’s notice to party chairs, secretaries, members and candidates said: “Once the court matter is resolved, proposed new conference dates and a revised timetable will be submitted to Central Committee for approval.”

An official statement from the party last night said members would be notified of the new conference dates once the court matter concluded.

The PLP constitution states that the annual conference should take place between October 15 and November 15 every year but the Central Committee can decide to postpone it to another date.

The constitution also allows “any aggrieved branch” to discuss the postponement during a Special Delegates Conference as long as the postponed conference is held no more than 15 months after the previous ADC.