New United Bermuda Party chairman Sean Pitcher explains how the party is trying to make itself relevant after three successive defeats.

The United Bermuda Party (UBP) can claw its way back into the hearts of voters – but it will have to do it the hard way, says new chairman Sean Pitcher.

He fought the 2007 election in the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) stronghold of Pembroke East but it didn't stop him putting all his efforts in.

And he said the UBP will have to reconnect in a similar way with people across the Island if it wants to return to power.

"You have to get out on the ground, knock on doors and talk to people."

The UBP's third successive defeat has led to a painful period of introspection and self examination, said Mr. Pitcher.

But the question is, when will the flurry of talking and issuing discussion documents be over and the real action take place?

Mr. Pitcher concedes: "There are things we have to change."

Branch structure, communication and the party vision have all been looked at.

"We basically took everything the party does and put it under the microscope. Are we current? Are we doing things the right way for this political climate and this age?

"We have lost track of what our vision is, what our core values are. We are going to restate those."

He said the party was going to make sure its branches held MPs accountable and make sure they are out in the field and doing the things they are supposed to do.

"A common complaint is once an MP is elected you never see them again, that is not acceptable behaviour."

The discussion document 'The Path Forward' puts the party back in the hands of its membership as opposed to the parliamentarians, said Mr. Pitcher.

"We have to deal with racism issues.

"That is something we have to look at very carefully but it is something we have to do – of acknowledging the inequalities of the past and developing a plan for empowerment for everyone, especially groups that have been disadvantaged.

"We have to look socially – there are groups who are still divided. How do we get people to cross those bridges? We see it in the younger generation but it is dealing with people's memories and perceptions. That is going to take some time."

Asked if it was time for some older MPs to step down Mr. Pitcher said: "I am a great believer in succession planning.

"That is something we mentioned in (a second UBP document), 'The Way Forward' report, that we need to look at.

"Obviously if you have a successful hard-working Member of Parliament you don't want to turf them out just because they have been in for so many years.

"But it is incumbent upon ourselves to develop a mentoring process where you have successful people and we identify within our adopted candidates people to work with those MPs – so if something does happen you are not left with a vacuum and you have an attractive pool of candidates.

"Is it a young man's game or do you keep people on as elder statesmen? That is something we have to grapple with."

Asked why the party had lost in 2007, Mr. Pitcher said: "We fought a good fight but we made some mistakes. There were some issues we didn't address.

"We didn't adequately address the race issue when it was raised.

"And I think we took a pledge to fight a clean campaign and when we did our hands were tied – we couldn't react because that would have meant we had broken our pledge.

"When some of their negative adverts came up we couldn't come after them in an effective manner as I would have liked."

The PLP went after then-leader Michael Dunkley.

Asked if a white businessmen was the right person to bring in the swing vote Mr. Pitcher said: "He obviously thought he could.

"I think if we had carried our message right. More importantly it's what we do and how we behave – whether that will attract the swing vote to us.

"That is why we are focusing on getting people active in their communities so they don't see us as sitting in an ivory tower somewhere."

Some might say the UBP has made no progress in a year. Its vote held up, as it kept Southampton West Central in the December by-election. But the PLP vote also remained buoyant, perhaps indicating the Government is still in the driving seat.

Pundits have called for a new party but Mr. Pitcher said that wouldn't work without changing the modus operandi and the faces – merely changing the name wouldn't cut any ice with anyone.

"People will see us in a different light if we behave differently. People have a perception of the UBP that it is this rich, white businessmen's party – the reality is quite different although we do have some successful rich, white businessmen.

"There are no two ways about it. We also have quite a few working class members who are black, Portuguese, who work in small companies – our diversity is our strength.

"But people have to see us in the community grappling with community issues."

Elected UBP chairman in December, Mr. Pitcher rejoined the party in 2006 after a long hiatus taken because he was a civil servant.

After a 19-year career at Bermuda Customs, where he rose to Principal Customs Officer and ran the maritime drug interdiction team, he joined Container Ship Management in 2003.

Born and bred in St. David's some have tipped Mr. Pitcher to run in the east end at the next election, but the chairman said he was focusing on the party now, and isn't even an approved candidate.

"I keep my finger on the pulse in St. George's and St. David's – you can't help to, I live there."

Right now he plans to strengthen the branches.

He believes the organisation is evolving and the UBP is moving from top-down to bottom-up with branches becoming younger and more vibrant.

"We see an increase in our paid membership – it's over 500, in 2003 it was 300.

"We had a big membership push at the grass roots level last year which was very successful and we are seeing new faces, younger faces come into the party and become active. I will be encouraging them to stay active.

"We are not perfect, but we are on the road.

"We have talented people who are not the UBP of old. We haven't quite done a good a job as possible of getting that message out.

"Perhaps I am the eternal optimist. I have seen some new folk, some new people, some new energy come into the party and I think while we are taking slower steps we are taking steps in the right direction."