Opposition campaign chairman Shawn Crockwell yesterday refused to rule out that the United Bermuda Party could disband.

Mr. Crockwell — whose victory in Pembroke West was not enough to prevent a 22-14 defeat at Tuesday's General Election — said anything was possible as crisis talks continue at the party.

He insisted there would be no kneejerk reaction but, when asked whether disbanding was a possibility, he replied: "Every option is on the table."

Mr. Crockwell said the Progressive Labour Party had won the election in the final two weeks of the campaign, as it stepped up its rhetoric and defined the UBP as anti-black.

A cosmetic change such as a new name would not be enough to prevent a repeat at the next election, he warned.

If the party continues, Mr. If the party continues, Mr. Crockwell has joined acting leader Patricia Gordon-Pamplin in ruling himself out of the running to be the new leader. He said he needed the experience of sitting in the House of Assembly before entertaining the possibility of the top job.

Asked what future the UBP faces, Mr. Crockwell said: "Uncertain. We've identified a plethora of issues and we're having an internal audit to become a more effective Opposition.

"If the Government doesn't feel it can lose despite its performance, we have to be concerned. It has to be that the albatross of race will not hurt us.

"In my opinion, the election was won in the last two weeks. There was an emphasis on race. There was a call that the UBP doesn't represent the interest of blacks. 'Don't go back.'

"I refute the perception created out there. There are no puppets. Whites are not making all the decisions. The reality is the opposite to the perception."

Mr. Crockwell said that until the start of December he felt the UBP were in with a good chance.

"In the last two weeks, I could sense the mood change," he said. "People started to become concerned about messages coming out. If all that needs to be done is a couple of weeks of defining the UBP as anti-black ... it's going to take time.

"We have to come up with a solution. We are exploring every possible option. We have some very difficult decisions to make and at the moment we don't have the answer.

"A cosmetic change would be insufficient. We need a fundamental change."

The UBP's share of the popular vote on Tuesday slipped about one percentage point to 47.2 percent compared to the PLP's 52.3 percent.

Earlier this week, Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said the party was carrying out a post-mortem and that work commitments would prevent her becoming permanent leader. A decision over the party's future is not expected before Christmas.