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Roberts-Holshouser seeks return as MP

The UBP's election candidate for St. George's South: Suzann Roberts-Holshouser.

Senator Suzann Roberts-Holshouser launched her bid to return to the House of Assembly by calling for more social support for families in need.Sen Roberts-Holshouser also vowed to fight for women’s issues as she was rolled out as the United Bermuda Party’s General Election candidate for St George’s South.One of her likely opponents will be former UBP colleague Donte Hunt, who won in Constituency Four at the last General Election before quitting to help form the Bermuda Democratic Alliance; Pastor Leroy Bean will compete for the Progressive Labour Party.Anti-social behaviour among young people is increasing and more people are now seeking financial assistance, Sen Roberts-Holshouser told a press conference.“The system of social support on the Island is broken,” she said yesterday.“Not the individual agencies, necessarily, but the overall system. There must be a major independent review of the social support structure in Bermuda.“Action is paramount now more than ever. As we move into 2011 it is time to take action.”Sen Roberts-Holshouser said manpower, funding and the overall strategy of the support structure needs evaluating.The UBP also complains that even when services are available people don’t know about them it wants a central phone number set up to point callers in the right direction.Sen Roberts-Holshouser was rolled out yesterday alongside chairwoman Senator Jeanne Atherden, MP Charlie Swan and Southampton East Central candidate Susan Jackson.A Senator for about a year, she was the UBP MP for St David’s from 2003 before losing the same seat to the PLP’s Lovitta Foggo by 90 votes at the last election.Speaking to The Royal Gazette yesterday, the former TV weather presenter recalled: “Losing the election was like a death. With death comes many emotions: anger, frustration. There’s a time when one must reflect.“It’s within that quiet time that if you want to move forward you take a look at where you are and where you want to go and that’s why I’m running under the UBP banner.”She said she represents the values of the UBP, but insisted she was running for “people of Bermuda”.The Senator said she was switching to Constituency Four because she lives there.Asked for her thoughts on her local MP Mr Hunt, she said: “I’m not against Donte, I’m not against the PLP. I’m running for the people. I don’t waste my time worrying about what other individuals are doing and not doing.“Donte was my representative because he ran in [Constituency] Four and I live in Four. I don’t see him, I haven’t heard from him, so how do I answer a question about what I think of him?”Just seven of Bermuda’s 36 MPs are women, although Premier Paula Cox has stepped up female representation in her Cabinet to five.Sen Roberts-Holshouser said: “The majority of voters in Bermuda are female. The number of representatives we have in the House and Senate represent males, therefore women don’t have as much of a say. Historically, we have always had to fight for the vote and for a say.“It’s far more difficult for a woman with a family, children and a job to be able to focus on another entity of their life; you can’t do it without the support of your family.“It’s important that more women step forward to represent their country.”