United Bermuda Party MPs will today decide whether to suspend maverick colleague Wayne Furbert indefinitely from the parliamentary group for attacking the selection of Senator Charlie Swan for the Southampton West Central by-election.

Mr. Furbert, who has already threatened to quit if the party doesn't show willingness to change, would not comment last night.

Shadow Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell would not say how he would vote on the future of his friend but added:"I don't support the fact that Wayne criticised his colleague leading into an election. It is not appropriate behaviour."

Asked whether disciplinary action might simply encourage Mr. Furbert to quit Mr. Crockwell said:"There is always concern.

"I certainly don't want to see him leave he has served this party over a number of years in every major capacity he's a former Cabinet Minister, Leader and chairman.

"He is the reason I became chairman and candidate and Ihave a great deal of respect for him.

"But we have to have standards. You cannot maintain any order if you are to operate a political organisation out of fear that someone might leave.

"The UBP needs to continue to do self-evaluation and make the necessary changes to make us viable.

"We will be in the rebuilding process, so if we have to rebuild from 14 or 13, it will still be the same process.

"I would like Wayne Furbert, who agrees with change, to operate in that but in terms of the public denigration of a colleague I don't support that."

Last week Mr. Furbert said the UBP should have picked a by-election candidate of stature who could be a future leader but instead the leadership had sat on its hands and then taken a backward step by choosing Sen. Swan.

The UBP is defending a 142-vote majority over Progressive Labour Party challenger Marc Bean in the December 4 poll. Independent Raymond Davis is also standing.

Asked if Mr. Furbert's statement could really be described as denigration, Mr. Crockwell said:"There was a clear implication he was not a quality candidate on the eve of an election."

Mr. Crockwell said he thought Mr. Swan would make an excellent MP. It's understood that Mr. Furbert will not be allowed to vote on his own fate today.

Asked if this was fair Mr. Crockwell said:"I don't see the relevance of members voting on their own conduct.

"He will have every opportunity to sit down and explain the reasons why he felt it necessary to go to the press to make these statements. We have to make a decision in the best interests of the party."

Asked whether the UBPhad itself handled the matter well by putting out a public statement attacking Mr. Furbert and thereby stoking the controversy, Mr. Crockwell said the country needed an Opposition which could focus on the pressing issues including the economy. "Right now we are not doing that because of a lot of internal issues."

Since the Election the Party has been divided between those wanting radical change and those who believe it can recapture power under the present formula. At times reformist MPs have called for a name change, for the older, white MPs to stand down and even for a new party to be formed.

Asked whether the public's patience with the debate was running thin, Mr. Crockwell said:"I am sick and tired of it myself, I would like to hear some tangible results but we live in a democracy and not everyone agrees on what the UBPshould do.

"We are in stalemate at the moment, that really is the genesis of our dysfunction you have half of the parliamentary caucus thinking we should go one way and the other half thinking we should not do too much in terms of change.

"However Mr. Crockwell said it was worth waiting for the change and a third party would be doomed to failure and would merely prompt the PLP to call a snap election to capitalise on the division.