If dissenting MPs quit their parties and become independents Bermuda's House of Assembly will become a far more effective place, according to community activist Eva Hodgson.

Dr. Hodgson said party politics gets in the way of decision making in many debates, and that if MPs weren't tied to a whip they could instead vote to represent their constituents.

She was speaking after veteran politician John Barritt revealed he could end up quitting as a United Bermuda Party MP and attempt to win his seat back in a by-election as an independent.

Mr. Barritt said he would like to see politicians on all sides of the House working together for the better of the Island by forming coalitions instead of being bound by the constant war between the Progressive Labour Party and the UBP.

"In the past, independents have not had any more success than third parties. However, at this particular time they might be more successful if all those interested in reform were talking about going independent," Dr. Hodgson told The Royal Gazette.

The racial equality campaigner said she had been against party politics since it began in the 1960s, describing it as a European concept ill-suited for Bermuda's needs as a society.

She said that politicians operating under the umbrella of the PLP had failed to tackle the issue of race over the decades; while individuals from each side of the House could also form alliances on topics like gambling and discrimination against homosexuals.

Defecting UBP MPs Shawn Crockwell, Donte Hunt and Mark Pettingill are forming a new party which they hope will end the racial divide in politics, which has seen many label the PLP a black party and the UBP a white party.

Dr. Hodgson said the new venture may prove politically successful but would not be enough to break the racial barrier on its own, even if they attract both blacks and whites to join them.

"To have independents means that black and white people from both parties would have some issues on which they could come together," she said.

"That's the only way you could make a move towards breaking down the racial political divide."