Opposition MP Michael Dunkley said at the weekend that the Throne Speech was the one of the weakest he had heard in his time in Parliament.

Mr Dunkley, a former premier, added he was “surprised and disappointed that Covid was not more of a feature” of the speech.

He asked MPs at last Friday’s sitting of the House of Assembly to think about the businesses that had closed, people that had struggled through the pandemic and the strain on the healthcare system and its staff.

Mr Dunkley said: “This reflection is a sombre and hard dose of reality and the full impact of Covid is not even known at this time.

“It is this reflection that leads me to my view that this is one of the weakest Throne Speeches that I can remember.

“I thought it would lay out a plan for the next steps in dealing with Covid.

“I thought it would lay out a vision and a plan for rebuilding the economy – I am not hearing that, I am hearing platitudes.”

Mr Dunkley added: “ I thought this speech would be a vision and a plan for rebuilding tourism.

“The Premier is now the Minister of Tourism yet tourism almost draws a blank in this Throne Speech. So what is the vision for tourism?

“The autonomy of the Bermuda Tourism Authority has been neutered. Where is the confidence of all those hospitality workers that strive to earn a living?”

Mr Dunkley highlighted that the Government had stepped in to pay $11 million in redundancy payments to staff laid off after the Fairmont Southampton closed last month for an 18-month renovation after owners Gencom delayed handing over the cash to workers.

He asked: “Why are hotel owners after promising to pay redundancy unable to meet that commitment? How and when will it be paid back? When will the renovations start?

Do they have access to capital to start the renovations. Will government be forced to pay redundancy for other properties in Bermuda?”

Scott Pearman, an Opposition MP, agreed that the Throne Speech was lacked detail and that there was “very little meat on the bone to seize with any certainty”.

Mr Pearman said: “The content is extremely vague and trying to identify what is going to happen … is like trying to nail a jellyfish to a tree.

“There are also many things that are not said – not a word on the environment, there is virtually nothing on the issue of gangs which is a major issue.

“There is not much about Covid-19 which you would have thought was the number one thing facing Bermudians and the world at the moment.

“There is nothing about how we will fix our flat lining economy, there is mention of a digital bank but where is the detail?”

Mr Pearman commended the government for acknowledging the need to increase the number of people on the island.

But he added: “Be bold – set out your vision on how many more people we need on our island to support economic growth.”

David Burt, the Premier, said that the Throne Speech was not the place to outline the government’s plans “chapter and verse”.

He added: “People have seen how we have managed the pandemic. The Throne Speech is about what laws we are going to change and how are you going to use your 30-6 majority to better the lives of the citizens.

“Our agenda is the right one and I will end this debate by saying during this session of parliament that I hope that we can engage in real substantive debate and the olive branch which I will extend is that I am happy to receive constructive criticism from the Opposition, but I want the Opposition to know and understand that we were elected on our manifesto and we will deliver on that manifesto.”