The acclamation of Alex Scott as Bermuda's new Premier was welcomed as a refreshing change by people on the streets of Hamilton yesterday and many said they saw it as a step towards unifying the Progressive Labour Party.

Feelings were mixed over Jennifer Smith's performance as Premier, although several people described her as "aloof" or "arrogant" and said they were glad to see her gone.

Corporation of Hamilton employee Eugene Richardson, 49, said he was "glad to see a change of blood" and added: "The two puppets (Colonel Burch and Jennifer Smith) are gone. It's not a good thing but I'm in it for the party."

He said: "I think Alex Scott can unify the party. I have to say though, if he is not up to par, he'll be gone at the next election."

He said ideally he would have liked to see former Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown become party leader "because he is precise and to the point".

"Dr. Brown is like Renee Webb, they are honest and full of heart. They stick to their guns and they're firm. I want Dale Butler to be made Education Minister and Paula Cox would be good for Housing. Terry Lister might be good at Tourism too."

Asked his opinion on Ms Smith as a Premier, Mr. Richardson said: "She isn't a people person. And the Colonel (Burch) was too cold and he wasn't fair with people."

Health worker Carla Wilkinson said she was disillusioned with both the PLP and UBP and because of that had not voted last Thursday.

But she said: "It seemed like Ms Smith was holding the party back. Mr. Scott is not a good replacement for her though. And it's a bit scary that Dr. Brown is deputy leader because it seems like he is a bit prejudiced against white people. It's going to make things worse."

She said she did not believe Mr. Scott "knows what he is doing".

"There is so much turmoil surrounding Mr. Scott. No one really respects him either. They put him in there to satisfy everyone. He is the last person that I want to be running the country. To me though they need to revamp the whole political system and replace all of those people."

Truck driver Malaika Butler Douglas said she had mixed feelings over Ms Smith as Premier.

"As a girl, I wanted her as a woman to get ahead but then again, if it's better for the party I'll support the change. I don't like the way she dealt with Dale Butler and if everyone as a whole thinks she is wrong then she should give someone else a chance. All the girls seem to have stuck by her though and she gave me a personal letter once so that touched me."

Asked how she felt about Mr. Scott as the new Premier, she said: "I think he is nice but he's sickly. He should be able to bring the party back together. I really think Mr. Butler should run for Premier though. He is the king of codfish and he's a church-going man."

Eddy Callender said: "Change is always good. Mr. Scott should do a good job. Everyone deserves a chance and he's got the experience. I feel every election they should put someone new in. Four or five years is enough for a person to stay in authority."

He said he thought Ms Smith was "not a people person like (former PLP leader) Frederick Wade" and added: "That's the trouble having to follow in the footsteps of someone like that.

" I just think as long as the PLP wins, it doesn't matter so much who is leader. It's more about the party than the person and we've got to give Mr. Scott a chance."

Fund accountant Robin Grant said he thought Ms Smith was "aloof".

"And she always got invited to parties and ended up just coming and drinking lots of champagne. There was also a lot of criticism about September 11 and the fact that she didn't speak to the people for weeks."

He said he thought the changeover of leadership was "a good thing for the country and for business".

"I just hope we get a Premier now who thinks more about the entire Island. I was hoping that Renee Webb or Eugene Cox was going to get in. People like them and I think they reflect more what the people actually want. I've not seen much of Mr. Scott but I hope he does a good job."

Student architect Corinthia Martin said she hoped the changeover would be "a good thing for the PLP".

"Any leader has a lot of challenges but I don't know if Jennifer Smith was the best person. She liked to do her own thing and wasn't as open to input as she could have been. Maybe she would have been more popular if she had been."