one-time rival Lord Waddington as she visited Bermuda's House of Assembly yesterday.

Miss Abbott, the first black woman elected to the House of Commons, has a serious political message during her visit as guest of the Progressive Labour Party.

But after watching the Convening of Parliament ceremony yesterday, she could not help poking a little fun at the Governor, who once served as a Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister.

Miss Abbott is a rival Labour MP, representing a poor, multi-racial district of London.

"I knew him as plain Mr. David Waddington when he was a Tory MP,'' she said.

"I never expected to see him in a big white hat with lots of feathers.'' Senior Conservative Mr. Chris Patten refused to wear such a hat when he became Governor of Hong Kong, she recalled. "So obviously, Lord Waddington likes it.'' Miss Abbott studied history at Cambridge University before being elected to local government in 1982. She became an MP in 1987, and was re-elected this year with an increased majority.

She is here to speak at the PLP's annual banquet at the Princess Hotel tonight.

She said yesterday's Throne Speech was "clearly an election speech''.

"It was longer than the speech the Queen makes from the throne in Britain.

Maybe in Bermuda you have more complex problems,'' she joked.

She said she found the Convening of Parliament ceremony charming.

"It was fairly low-key compared to the British House of Commons. It was relatively informal.'' Miss Abbott said she would be speaking about "the importance of solidarity and unity, and about how people in British colonies and ex-British colonies can move themselves forward.

"I was born in London but my family's from Jamaica, so I'm very interested in British colonies and ex-British colonies, and very interested in building links between Britain and these countries,'' she said.

"With the current emphasis on Europe there's a danger these political links will be broken.'' Miss Abbott said her job in the Commons was primarily to represent the people in her district, who were of all colours.

"But I also want to be a role model for women and for people of colour,'' she said. "There's nothing you can't do if you set your mind to it.

"Race is an issue in Britain. There's still discrimination in employment, and in a recession there's a danger that people turn against `outsiders'. But everybody in Parliament, both Labour and Conservative, has been very courteous to me.

"I've come to Bermuda to learn, and bring the good wishes of my colleagues in the British Parliament.

"I think what is important for an island like Bermuda, with a very mixed community, is that you build the maximum unity possible, and that you also have genuine equality for all people.

"Without genuine equality you can't have unity, and if any one group or section is disadvantaged you will not have the unity that will bring the country forward.'' BUILDING LINKS -- British MP Miss Dianne Abbott, the first black woman elected to the House of Commons, hopes to foster relations between the UK and Bermuda during her visit as a guest of the Progressive Labour Party.