Nearly three quarters of all voters believe the public should know the full contents of Police files from a corruption investigation into the Bermuda Housing Corporation before an election is held. That is the result of an independent poll done by Research.bm. earlier this month which showed 74 percent wanted full disclosure.

No date has yet been set for the election although with the Progressive Labour Party ramping up its campaign a late August vote could be on the cards.

Allegations from the files made headlines last month however the press have been gagged from further reporting the leaked Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) dossier pending a hearing by London’s Privy Council which could be at least a year away. Said to run to thousands of pages, the BHC files reportedly reveal that Premier Ewart Brown, former Premier Jennifer Smith, former Minister Renée Webb, construction boss and new PLP candidate Zane DeSilva and others were investigated by Police although none were ever charged.

The poll of 401 Bermuda residents conducted between July 9 and 16 asked them to agree or disagree with the following statement: “Voters should know what’s in the BHC files before they are asked to vote in the next general election.”

A total of 74 percent agreed while the sentiment got the backing of 99 percent of white voters and 60 percent of black voters. There was little difference in the genders but the older people got, the more inquisitive they were about the documents.

In the 18-49 year-old age bracket 73 percent agreed, 74 percent of the 50-64-year-old group took that stance while 81 percent of those 65 and older wanted the books opened up.

The same firm also got 71 percent backing to the statement: “Government corruption hurts average Bermudians by reducing the amount of money available for affordable housing and social programmes.”

And the same survey showed support for Independence is down with only one quarter of voters backing a split from the UK. The poll showed 63 percent were in favour of the status quo, 25 percent wanted change while 12 percent were undecided.

The sample of 401 Bermuda residents conducted between July 9 and 16 is in line with most other polls on the subject although one survey two months ago — by rival firm Research Innovations Ltd — showed those wanting sovereignty had hit 34.7 percent. Last month Premier Ewart Brown declared Independence would not be on the Progressive Labour Party’s agenda for the coming election.

The new Research.bm poll shows blacks and younger voters are more likely to support breaking with Britain than whites and older voters. Earlier this week the same firm said the United Bermuda Party was six points ahead of the Progressive Labour Party with the Opposition getting the support of 40 percent of voters compared to 34 percent for the Government while 26 percent were undecided.

Two months ago Research.bm had both parties even on 38 percent. The poll, has a five percent margin of error, and differs from a poll done two months ago by Research Innovations Ltd which showed the PLP leading with 38.7 percent compared to the UBP’s 28.3 percent.

However, Research.bm said it makes an effort to weed out people who declare they are unlikely to vote.