Opposition Senators won't have an easier time in the Upper House now that their arch-antagonist Mr. Charles Collis has left the Senate, his replacement Sen. Michael Winfield warned yesterday.

Sen. Collis, Government Leader in the Senate for more than a decade, was frequently and angrily at odds with the Progressive Labour Party's three Senators -- Sen. Alex Scott, Sen. Ira Philip and Sen. Trevor Woolridge -- and they were often angry at him.

"Charles Collis was a brilliant -- and is a brilliant -- individual and he served Government and the country very well,'' said Sen. Winfield, who makes his debut as Senate Leader this morning.

"He did irritate the Opposition, because he wouldn't let the Opposition get away with ill-conceived or unsubstantiated allegations and statements. That irritated them.'' But Sen. Winfield said that won't change under his leadership -- unless the PLP members change their ways. "I don't think that anyone in a public position should get themselves in a position where they are simply trying to make headlines,'' he said. "We have a much greater responsibility than that.'' But Sen. Winfield insisted he was not a Collis clone. "I'm young,'' the 39-year-old hotel manager said. "I'm from a different generation than he is, so perhaps we have different priorities.'' And as a member of a different generation, he said, he would undoubtedly put more stress on different issues.

"Our generation tends to be more concerned about race relations. We are concerned about broadening the equity base in this country, we are concerned about environmental as well as economic survival.'' This isn't to say the older generation wasn't concerned about these issues, Sen. Winfield said, but rather that younger Bermudians probably give them more emphasis.

"To an extent we may be less practical,'' he said. "Maybe we are more dreamers and we believe that our dreams can come true.'' Sen. Winfield, who now leads a five-person UBP Senate contingent that is entirely under the age of 40, first made waves in the United Bermuda Party as a founding member and the first president of the "Under-40s Caucus.'' He served as a branch campaign chairman of Pembroke East Central in the 1980 general election, and was chosen by then Premier Sir David Gibbons as the UBP's campaign manager in 1981.

When that invitation came, Sen. Winfield said, "I was about 27-years-old and I was a rebel. I had strong views on certain things ... It was a very difficult decision whether to join the establishment or to be a rebel.'' Sen. Winfield received credit from UBP officials for the 1983 and 1985 election victories, and some criticism for the party's loss of seats in 1989.

But he said the 1989 election was a difficult and complicated one and the party's ultimate goal -- a victory -- was accomplished.

And it was a significant success, he said, "in that it turned Government around. It made it determined to listen and to encourage participation. Very few argue now that this Government isn't listening.'' Sen. Winfield was appointed to the Senate in February, 1987, when he was 34, and became Minister of Management and Information Services in January, 1990.

He said that job is the sort he likes -- behind the scenes. "I'm supposed to make Government manage more effectively and communicate more effectively,'' he said. "That doesn't mean I should be seen doing anything.'' As time passes, Sen. Winfield said, Management Services itself is doing a more efficient job.

Its role was once largely that of approving hiring and personnel shifts, he said. But now it is working more as a sort of management consultant for Government, helping departments do their jobs more efficiently, cost-effectively and with greater consideration for the public it services.

Although a hotelier by profession, Sen. Winfield said: "Management is my great love. I have spent a lot of time studying management, and it's something that we can do much better at, right across Bermuda. We aren't generally as efficient as we should be.'' Sen. Winfield, who is married with young children, grew up in Somerset and attended Sandys Grammar School. He then attended Ashbury College in Ottawa, Malvern College in England and Queen Mary College at the University of London where he studied zoology.

He began his career with a large catering company in London, where he ended up as general manager, and in 1974 returned to Bermuda and joined the Southampton Princess Hotel.

He served as manager of the property from 1979 to 1983, when he became general manager of Cambridge Beaches.

Sen. Mike Winfield.