If one thing was overwhelmingly apparent at the United Bermuda Party?s first Town Hall meeting of the year, it was that many Bermudians are angry and frustrated.

Fifty people listened to a 20-minute presentation from five UBP MPs at St. James Church in Somerset on Tuesday night before giving the politicians an earful on their frustrations.

New Opposition Leader Wayne Furbert addressed the crowd early in the evening and stated that the Island is in need of political reform.

He said the Island needs fixed election dates in order to hold politicians accountable and allow the public to know when the next election will be.

He also suggested that the Island could benefit from having committee meetings, such as Public Accounts, open to the public. While he said he supported the Westminster system of government, he said it could be tweaked to better serve the country.

Opposition members Maxwell Burgess, David Dodwell, Louise Jackson and Neville Darrell also spoke briefly.

The meeting was then opened to the audience and some attendees made impassioned pleas to drop politics and work together to get the country back in order.

One mother stood and lamented the fact that she works two jobs to pay for her children?s education.

She said she feels she cannot trust the Island?s public education system.

She also questioned why she must spend $3,000 a month on rent but could not use the money as a mortgage payment instead.

Another man stood and said the average person simply cannot make it on the Island.

?We?re not working in hotels, we?re not working in restaurants because with those jobs we just can?t make it,? he said. ?We can?t afford rent. We can?t afford to go out. We can?t afford to raise our children.?

The man, who works in the trades, questioned what future Bermuda would hold for average citizens.

?The people of Bermuda are frustrated and mad and the PLP and UBP need to work together because 30- and 40-year-olds are going home and getting angry in front of their kids,? the man said.

?Why do you think we have so many violent young men now?

?Because they have heard their parents? frustration and anger over the situation for years.?

Race was another issue frequently mentioned during the meeting.

One man scolded the UBP for its stance on race saying it was a major issue on the Island and that many elder Bermudians remember the struggle it took to end segregation. He blasted the party for belittling the major steps the PLP has made growing out of the Bermuda Industrial Union.

Another man said he vividly remembers not being able to go to movies. He questioned why the UBP asks that people move on and work together.

?I never got my time to speak about what happened to me and now you want me to forget about it,? he said.

Mr. Furbert ended the night by urging Bermudians to look beyond party politics and look for individuals who will lead the country forward.

?My interest is with Bermuda not the UBP,? he said. ?In 1998 I followed the PLP because I believed in their vision but they didn?t follow through.

?If we don?t start facing things now, our children will not be equipped for the Bermuda they are inheriting. Let?s stop fighting and look for answers, not for the UBP, but for Bermuda.?