Premier Alex Scott did not appear to find his low approval rating irrational yesterday, noting that the Government has taken a tough stance on many issues in the past year.

In a poll conducted by Research Innovations, 403 residents were asked in a random telephone poll if they approved of the job Mr. Scott was doing as Premier.

A total of 37.3 percent said they approved of what he was doing, while 36.3 percent disapproved and 26.3 percent were unsure.

One year ago, Mr. Scott's approval rating stood at 80 percent.

"We do think polls are a snapshot in time ? an abstraction of public opinion," the Premier said yesterday. "In that regard, they show what has transpired for us over the last year or so."

Over the last 12 months Government has taken a tough stance on issues such as gaming, Independence, the Social Agenda, housing, crime and education, he said.

The Social Agenda was a "bold plan moving forward in the next two, three, four, five years and beyond", covering all aspects of society.

Serious consideration has also been given to Independence, he said, adding the combination is a significant amount for a comfortable, conservative society to digest. "I think the polls reflect that.

"Bermudians are unique. We want change, but we don't want things to change."

However, Mr. Scott added, it was important to note that the percentage of those who disapproved of his job performance had not increased significantly. In July the percentage of those disapproving of Mr. Scott's job performance was 29.6; this November it was 36.3. In February, it was 2.2 percent.

"Folks haven't deserted and gone into dissatisfaction, they've gone into the unsure category," Mr. Scott said.

The Premier expected the poll numbers to slowly increase over the next six months to a year as the Social Agenda begins to bear fruit.