Premier Alex Scott has admitted he has expended some ?political capital? by addressing ?difficult issues? including banning gaming machines and backing the GPS system for taxis.

Asked his reaction to Bermuda Sun poll results saying his approval rating had plummeted, Mr. Scott said he had seen his high approval ratings last November as ?political capital? that would enable him to take hard decisions.

?It is not unlike having money in the bank and spending it on capital development,? he said in a statement.

?The hard decisions I have taken include open discussions on Independence, review and rejection of gaming machines and instituted the required legislation as was promised by the Progressive Labour Party Government and tackling the highly controversial issue of a GPS system in our taxi fleet.

?However even as we addressed these difficult issues I believe that more important than poll numbers and even hard decisions is the preparation and application of the social agenda that we are about to launch,? he said. ?This agenda will address the multiplicity of needs that the citizens of our country are experiencing. We read poll numbers, we listen and we do not ignore what we hear.

?At the same time we continue to put the things in place that will meet the needs of our people in a tangible way. That is our social agenda and our priority.?

Last week, PLP spokesman Scott Simmons told the Bermuda Sun that the numbers reflected residents concerns that Government is planning legislation on ?morality issues.?

?The direct reason for this plummet in numbers is that the Bermudian public are concerned about their personal rights and whether the Government is planning on creating legislation based on morality issues ? people don?t want that,? the newspaper reported him as saying on Wednesday.