picked up a challenge for a public debate from a United Bermuda Party maverick standing for the "Independent Unfettered Bermuda Party'' Sanders Frith Brown threw down the gauntlet to official UBP candidate Kim Young in Tuesday's edition of The Royal Gazette .

Mrs. Young said she was not frightened to meet Mr. Frith Brown in debate -- but she dismissed the challenge as a distraction for the major issues and said: "I don't have time for that.'' But the PLP candidate in the UBP stronghold, Craig Walls, said he was prepared to enter a public clash with Mr. Frith Brown.

The senior financial portfolio accountant said: "If he wants to argue something, I would be interested. I'm confident he wouldn't present me with any problems.'' Mr. Walls added that the challenge by Mr. Frith Brown -- a three-time loser in bids to be adopted as an official candidate for the Government party and a UBP member in Warwick East and West -- showed that the cracks in the UBP had not been plastered over.

He said wounds caused to the UBP by the McDonald's burger wars and the acrimonious Independence debate were still raw.

Mr. Walls added: "There is a lot of internal dissension -- my stance is basically to always represent my constituents and that's it, period.

"Unfortunately, Government hasn't been doing that. I think they have been pushing forward their personal agendas quite a bit and once they are in the House they are voting their personal position rather than the position of their constituents.'' The by-election in Paget East was caused by the retiring of former Premier Sir John Swan.

He led the Country into a controversial Independence Referendum, staking his Premiership on a "yes'' vote. He resigned from the top job after going it alone was overwhelmingly rejected.

Sir John was also at the centre of the franchise row after a company controlled by him, Grape Bay Ltd, applied to open a McDonald's on the Island.

That sparked a backbench rebellion in the UBP with five MPs voting to kill the proposal and siding with the PLP in a motion of censure of then-Premier David Saul for his role in the affair.

Mr. Frith Brown said when he announced himself as a candidate that it was a protest against machine politics and the party system.

He added later he felt more should be done to stem the rising tide of problems in schools, drugs and crime.

Mr. Frith Brown said yesterday that he would be happy to meet Mr. Walls in debate -- ideally televised.

He added: "I suppose we can have the debate between the PLP and me and we can show up the UBP for not being willing to take part.'' But he said: "My objective is to constructively criticise the UBP -- the PLP in my opinion obstructively criticise them.

"I don't think that the fact I'm standing shows that the Independence fiasco or the hamburger farce shows there wounds are healed or unhealed.'' And he insisted his only commitment to the electors was that he would not vote with the PLP to unseat Government because he did not trust the Opposition to govern properly -- and added he supported the UBP's broad manifesto.

But Mr. Frith Brown said: "I support the United Bermuda Party only because I think they are the lesser of two evils -- but party politics has been an abysmal failure in Bermuda.''