Dissident ruling party backbenchers will abandon attempts to unseat Premier Jennifer Smith if a leadership challenge fails, according to MP Wayne Perinchief.

And Progressive Labour Party (PLP) rebels will not initiate a no-confidence vote on the Government as a way to remove the Premier.

"Our intention is not to bring down the Government but to remove the Premier," said Mr. Perinchief, the de facto leader of an ongoing campaign to oust Ms Smith.

He told The Royal Gazette yesterday that winning the election was top priority and that squabbles over the party's leadership will be confined to the history books after the party's annual delegates' conference in November - if a leadership vote takes place.

"The elected members of the (PLP) want to remain and keep itself as a cohesive body and it's now my assessment that we must resolve the leadership dilemma otherwise we could get fragmented."

He stood by earlier statements that the PLP's Parliamentary group could force the Premier's resignation by a majority vote - a proposition disputed by some of his own colleagues. For now, though, the question is academic.

"If we lose a vote on the leadership in any caucus or forum, that will be the end of it," he said. "We are getting close to an election and what I stated before is my intention is to get the PLP to return to Government."

Former PLP cabinet Minister Arthur Hodgson is actively considering making a bid for the party's leadership at the November conference and while he has not made any definitive public statements, behind the scenes lobbying has already begun.

Mr. Hodgson could not be contacted for comment yesterday. But backbencher and labour leader Derrick Burgess agreed with Mr. Perinchief, saying "it makes sense and we are all sensible people and common sense certainly prevails in this society."

Other backbenchers could not be contacted for comment by press time.

"We are not going to go squabbling past the delegates conference," Mr. Perinchief continued.

But he added: "This is not just some internal party squabble. This is an issue of national and international consequences. We are not trying to destabilise the Government, we are trying to strengthen it. If we want to go forward and be progressive we have to strengthen the leadership."

Mr. Perinchief added that the international nature of Bermuda's economy and the fact that the Island is Britain's largest colony and a "micro-nation" meant that "we need to be aware of how the world observes us."

"We are talking about liasons with Caricom, NAFTA, we have to talk about OECD and we have got this Patriot Tax bill right now which could impact very heavily on our economic well-being and political stability," he said.

Premier Jennifer Smith has until November next year to name the election date. Mr. Perinchief said the dissidents were "well aware" of the fact that the Premier could call the election before the November conference.

"We would have to gather our forces and go forward to win the election - whatever it takes. The public have a voice in this, they are the final arbiters of all of us. We are well aware of that."

At a caucus meeting in May, the Premier rejected a call for her to resign and the matter was put to a vote which resulted in a nine-nine draw with most of the backbenchers present voting for her resignation and the majority of cabinet members siding with Ms Smith.

Complaints against the Premier centre on what the backbenchers say is a consistent failure to consult with them on important issues.

Yesterday, Mr. Perinchief said that some Ministers were equally negligent.

Efforts at resolving the differences have not been entirely successful, but according to Mr. Perinchief relations between the cabinet members and the back bench are "amiable".

"There's always that great word redemption," he said. "The Premier can redeem herself by communicating more with the back bench on major issues, when she wants our support in the House."