A former Opposition MP has been chosen to try to win back Hamilton South for the United Bermuda Party at the next general election.

Allan Marshall, 55, told a press conference at John Smith's Bay yesterday that the dismal state of the economy had propelled him back into politics.

The businessman and former Bank of Bermuda deputy manager said the Progressive Labour Party had failed to deliver on its 1998 election promise to cut out waste and had instead increased the country's debt fivefold.

"That's not cutting out waste; that's an abuse of power, an abuse of the public purse," he told The Royal Gazette. "More than anything, I have decided to step forward to wrestle with some of these issues."

Darius Tucker won constituency seven for the UBP in the December 2007 general election but has since left the party and sits in the House of Assembly as an independent MP.

Opposition leader Kim Swan said yesterday: "Forty seven percent of the electorate voted for the UBP [in the 2007 election] and it's important in this constituency, that did return a UBP candidate, that representation at the constituency level is given.

"I have every confidence in Mr. Allan Marshall's ability, with the help of his team here in Hamilton South, to return this seat to the United Bermuda Party, for which the people of Hamilton South voted for in the first place."

He described father-of-two Mr. Marshall as a family man with great integrity who was well versed in financial matters. "He's certainly very experienced and that's what Bermuda needs at this particular time.

"Bermuda does need a steady hand at the tiller. Here's a man that can be a Cabinet Minister tomorrow."

Mr. Marshall, who founded Bermuda's first bottled water company in 1992, was appointed a UBP senator in 1997 under former Premier Pamela Gordon.

He was elected to Parliament as MP for Smith's North in 1998 and served in the Shadow Cabinet but lost his seat in 2003.

He ran unsuccessfully for the UBP in Devonshire North West in the 2007 election, losing to Deputy Premier Paula Cox.

The director and consultant for Somers Real Estate Opportunity Fund is the first new candidate for the next election to be formally announced by the UBP.

He was approached by the local UBP branch to stand after being approved by the party's candidate selection committee.

Mr. Swan said that although there was no general election in sight — the next one must be held by the end of 2012 — the phased roll-out of candidates was to let voters know who would be knocking on their doors in the future.

He has previously said that all nine sitting Opposition MPs will stand again at the next election.

Party chairman Jeff Sousa, who hopes to run in Warwick West, stressed yesterday that candidates would be fielded by the party in all 36 constituencies. "There will be lots of new faces coming up," he added.

Mr. Tucker retained Hamilton South for the UBP at the last election, beating the PLP's Wayne Caines by 547 to 420 votes. The independent MP could not be reached yesterday for comment.