Opposition leader Michael Dunkley’s decision not to attend Dame Lois Browne’s funeral will cost him his parliamentary seat, predicts United Bermuda Party backbencher Maxwell Burgess.

And he forecast the Government would maintain its hold on power after saying his own party would pay the price of downgrading economic empowerment as a policy.

Mr. Dunkley has moved out of his safe Devonshire seat to fight Patrice Minors in Smith’s North, part of which was in Dame Lois’ old Devonshire North constituency.

Mr. Dunkley has explained that he could not attend Dame Lois funeral because he had private business to attend to in Atlanta which could not be avoided but in retrospect he regretted not being at the ceremony.

One UBP strategist admitted to The Royal Gazette that Mr. Dunkley’s no-show decision was a “colossal mistake”.

And Mr. Burgess told The Royal Gazette: “He clearly showed where his interests lie and I think the Bermudian public have taken note of it. Certainly those in the seat which Dame Lois represented are painfully aware of where his priority was and is. I think Patrice Minors will return to that seat.”

And Mr. Burgess predicted his party would lose for the third successive time because it was not appealing to what voters wanted.

“At this point people are going to vote for a Government they believe understands them. You have to understand the needs of black people if you want to represent them.

“You have to have that old fashioned connect. I am afraid three visits to my house isn’t going to give it to you. It’s fair to say economic empowerment is not a prominent as it once might have been but I am extremely keen and interested in that. In between that and getting education right a lot of other problems will fall away.”

The United Bermuda Party had championed economic empowerment a while back with recent defector Jamahl Simmons leading the charge but Mr. Burgess said he didn’t know who was the party spokesman on the issue now.

“Certainly the most recent utterances have not given me an indication that it’s front and center on their agenda.

“I think the temptation to believe that the PLP will fall on its sword can cause you to lose focus.”

He said it was vital to educate people properly to give them a chance to participate in Bermuda’s economic miracle as it was a critical component of social stability. But economic empowerment had been downgraded in the UBP before Mr. Dunkley took over as leader from Wayne Furbert in April, said Mr. Burgess. “I, like other people, have not seen any utterances to make me believe it’s a burning issue of theirs.”

But he said the election could turn on this. “We have a widening gap between the haves and have-nots. People, I believe, will vote for the party that understands the problem as it is and can do something about it.”

Lately the UBP has been vocal on the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal.

But Mr. Burgess said: “While one might want to keep a watching brief if one gets consumed by this they might find themselves playing to the wrong audience.

“And then there is the issue of housing. How are we going to close the gap between those who desperately need homes and those who are in a position to afford them?

“If we don’t tackle that soon we are going to pay the price, I think we will see social unrest.”

However Mr. Burgess, who like Mr. Simmons is retiring as an MP at the coming election, said he would not be following his former colleague into the PLP. Mr. Burgess said: “I think Jamahl Simmons has spoken with his feet.

“I think he’s bright, political and he’s got a lot more years ahead than I have. And I think it was a reasonable question to ask himself - ‘If I really believe I can contribute, where am I best doing it?’ He answered it.

“I think the UBP should have engaged in outreach a long time before it did and the PLP is the beneficiary of a young man who I think who has a lot more in his future.”

Mr. Burgess added: “I think it is going to be one strangest elections I ever have seen. I don’t think you are going to see a major shift in the number of seats but we will see a shift in some of the seats that come home for the two parties. I think there will be two or three surprises.”

Asked for his response Mr. Dunkley said of his decision to miss Dame Lois’ funeral: “In hindsight I am not too proud to say I believe it was a mistake. I should have shifted my schedule in spite of the inconvenience to other parties.”

He admitted there had been concern in the community but he lamented the fact that the PLP were trying to make an election issue out of it. And asked on his thoughts about Mr. Burgess’ thoughts on economic empowerment he admitted the pair had differing views on some things.

“He has not been in caucus for some time and would not be aware of our plans or our platform.”

But Mr. Dunkley said more would be revealed nearer the election which has yet to be called. He said it wasn’t too long ago that Mr. Burgess had been very vocal on the Government’s poor performance.

“My, how things have changed, although the Government’s performance hasn’t changed.

“We saw Jamahl Simmons stand up and support the PLP and I think anyone who has moved away might come out with the same type of thing. It’s politics. These type of things happen.”

Last night, UBP colleague Pat Gordon Pamplin said: “It is painful to me that one of my most valued colleagues would negate my presence at Dame Lois’s funeral as our party’s representative.

“I believe, based on feedback, that my own contribution was appreciated by many of those present, and the countless others who witnessed the event via television.”

She said she trusts that Smith’s North residents will look past “what they might regard as a slight against Dame Lois, but which, in fact, was a pre-arranged obligation by the leader”.

Mrs. Gordon Pamplin also questioned if the United Bermuda Party leader had been black, if his absence would have been criticised.

“It is sad to think that in this day and age, with the advances of blacks in a very real way, that we would still look for validation from a white person,” she said. “Had our leader been black, would his absence be criticised as intensely?

“Dame Lois’ name has been used in a shameless way in this election campaign to mask the real issue — that of a government who believes that lack of accountability is appropriate because they govern a population that is predominantly black.

“Since when must black equate with acceptance of mediocrity?”

Mrs. Gordon Pamplin concluded: “Let us not hide misdeeds behind the corpse of a giant of a woman who certainly deserves better than this scandalous abuse of her memory.”

Explaining that while she “does not have a crystal ball” to predict the outcome of the Smith’s North seat in a General Election, she applauds Mr. Dunkley’s “coming out of his comfort zone to contest a difficult constituency”.

She added: “Representation of a constituency should be based on the ability to represent people’s interest, for which Michael has more than proven his worth.”